Rex Chapman: Former NBA Player Avoids Jail After Pleading Guilty To Stealing $14K From Apple Store
Rex Chapman pleaded guilty to four felony counts of theft, but the former NBA player will avoid prison time.
Chapman was ordered to serve 750 hours of community service and will be on probation for an undetermined period after pleading guilty to stealing $14,000 worth of merchandise from an Apple Store in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Chapman, a 12-year NBA veteran, also has to pay back more than $15,000 to the store.
He was accused of stealing from nine different Apple Stores on several occasions over a three-month period, then taking the merchandise to a pawn shop and selling them for cash. But several employees recognized Rex Chapman from his NBA days, and on September 19 of last year he was arrested by Scottsdale police.
The Arizona Republic detailed how Rex Chapman pulled off the theft, which was captured on surveillance video:
“Scottsdale police said Chapman would make it appear that he was purchasing the items through an iPhone app that allows customers to self-checkout within an Apple store. Chapman would then leave without actually paying for the items, police said.”
[…]
“The clips show the former University of Kentucky star and basketball announcer walking through the store, standing around display stands with other customers and on at least one occasion picking up a boxed item. Chapman appears to be holding an Apple sales bag in several of the clips, and in the longest surveillance videos, he lingers near a headphone display stand for several seconds picking up boxes.”
Rex Chapman is not the only former NBA player to find legal trouble in Scottsdale, Arizona. Former All-Star Chris Gatling was arrested for allegedly running a massive online fraud scheme that stole credit cards from people across the country, the Associated Press reported.
After meeting a fitness studio owner and allegedly persuading her to open large credit cards for him, Gatling fell under investigation from Scottsdale police. They later found that Gatling was operating a number of online businesses designed to gather credit card numbers, which were slapped with fraudulent charges.
Gatling was already serving a four-year probation sentence after a 2013 sentence for squatting in a Phoenix home and trying to list it for rent.
Rex Champan spent several seasons with the Phoenix Suns before retiring in 2000. He was a first-round draft pick of the Charlotte Hornets in 1988, and also spent time with the Washington Bullets and Miami Heat during his career. The former NBA player earned more than $22 million over the course of his career.
[Image via Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department]
