Talks delay hearing for Giants’ Burress

NEW YORK (AP) — Plaxico Burress will return to court today in his gun possession case as his lawyers and prosecutors haggle over a plea deal and what punishment the New York Giants star should face for accidentally shooting himself in a crowded nightclub last year.

A law enforcement official with knowledge of the case said that Burress and prosecutors have been in active discussions about a plea deal, but remain at odds over the terms, with the District Attorney’s office pushing for a stiffer punishment than what defense lawyers believe Burress deserves.

Burress, who fired a bullet into his thigh at a Manhattan nightclub in November with a gun he’d stuffed in his waistband, has been charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a felony that carries a minimum prison sentence of 31‚Ñ2 years in prison and a maximum of 15 years upon conviction.

His attorney Ben Brafman said Burress will appear in court today but the hearing will be adjourned. He wouldn’t comment on a possible plea deal.

Statistics show that more than eight out of 10 people arrested in the city last year on the same charge Burress faces received reduced charges, though some plea deals included jail time. Former prosecutor Randy M. Mastro, a deputy mayor under Rudy Giuliani, said Burress’ case was going to be “a close call.”

“He’s got a pretty compelling story to tell,” Mastro said. “But, at the same time, there’s been a tremendous public outcry, particularly by some politicians, about this famous figure having a weapon.”

Prosecutors, in offering reduced charges in gun possession cases, consider past criminal history, arrest circumstances and the reason for having the weapon. The 31-year-old wide receiver, who caught the winning touchdown pass in the Giants’ 2008 Super Bowl victory over the previously undefeated New England Patriots, has no criminal record.