Burress indicted, Pierce not, in gun case

NEW YORK, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Former New York Giants receiver Plaxico Burress was indicted Monday in a 2008 shooting incident but the grand jury took a pass on ex-teammate Antonio Pierce.

Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau said while the New York grand jury indicted Burress on two felony counts of criminal possession of a weapon and one misdemeanor count of reckless endangerment for allegedly shooting himself in a nightclub last November, it returned a "no bill" on gun-possession charges against Pierce, a Giants linebacker, The (Newark, N.J.) Star-Ledger reported.

Burress, who was cut by the team in April, will have to surrender or face arrest. He faces as much as 15 years in prison, if convicted.

"Antonio is gratified that the grand jury determined that the evidence did not support an indictment," Michael Bachner, Pierce's attorney, wrote in an e-mail. "Once the grand jurors were able to hear Antonio, see him and understand the workings of his mind on that extraordinary evening, they concluded, as they should have, that (he) acted as any reasonable person would have."

The newspaper reported NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said there "was no basis for a suspension" of the Giants linebacker.

The charges against Burress stem from a shooting in a New York club that left him with a leg wound. Pierce was investigated for allegations he transported Burress's gun across state lines in his car.