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Gilbert Arenas charged with felony gun possession

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Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas was charged with felony gun possession today in connection with a Dec. 21 locker-room incident with a teammate.

Prosecutors charged Arenas with one count of carrying a pistol without a license, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. The charges were filed in D.C. Superior Court in an “information,” a document that often signals a plea deal.

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Arenas, a three-time All-Star who has been suspended indefinitely by the NBA pending the investigation, has said he kept multiple guns in his locker. Arenas said he wanted to keep them away from his children and didn’t know it was illegal.

Arenas says he took them out of the locker on Dec. 21 in a “misguided effort to play a joke” on a teammate.

League officials have said the locker-room incident stemmed from a dispute between Arenas and teammate Javaris Crittenton during a card game on a plane trip back from the West Coast two days earlier.

Coach Flip Saunders and at least seven Wizards players have appeared before a grand jury or been questioned by authorities.

Earlier today, police searched for a gun at Crittenton’s Arlington, Va., apartment but did not seize any evidence, according to court documents.

It’s unclear what role Crittenton played in the incident or whether he had a gun. The former Lakers guard has kept a low profile and has said he did nothing wrong.

-- Houston Mitchell

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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