NBA Star Rex Chapman Pleads Guilty To Theft, Might Have Sentence Reduced [Video]


NBA veteran Rex Chapman, who played for the Phoenix Suns before retiring, pleaded guilty to four felony counts of theft on September 4, reports the Bleacher Report. Chapman was found guilty of stealing over $14,000 worth of merchandise from Apple stores in Scottsdale, Arizona, the Maricopa County District Attorney’s Office confirmed on September 8 to the Kentucky Herald Leader.

The Arizona Republic reports Chapman was caught stealing the items on a surveillance video. Rex would pretend to purchase merchandise at the store through a self-checkout app and leave without paying for his items. The Kentucky Herald Ledger reports that Rex Chapman would then sell the items for cash.

After his September 19 arrest last year, Rex subsequently entered a voluntary 28-day substance-abuse treatment program at The Brook Hospital in Louisville, explaining that he suffered from a longtime addiction to pain killers from injuries he sustained during his basketball career.

Rex Chapman will serve 750 hours of community service and will remain on probation for a set period of time. As part of his sentence for the thefts, Rex will also pay back $15,128 he stole from the Apple store, reportedly 50 percent before his hearing and 50 percent during probation, reports the Arizona Republic. Chapman will also be responsible for an additional restitution not to exceed $10,000 “for any additional losses the victim establishment may have incurred that we’re not aware of yet,” the Kentucky Herald Leader reports.

Chapman is expected to find out the length of his probation at a sentencing hearing on September 25 in Maricopa County Superior Court. The felony counts of theft are Class 6 charges, the lowest felony class in Arizona, and it is possible Rex might have his sentence reduced to a misdemeanor at his sentencing at the end of this month.

A reduction in his sentencing and probation is not unheard of in a case like the one involving Rex Chapman. Speaking to the Arizona Republic, Maricopa County Attorney’s Office spokesman Jerry Cobb said, “In Arizona, for the first offense, it almost always will result in probation.”

After a 12-year career, Rex Chapman retired from basketball in 2000 after playing for the Phoenix Suns. According to the Bleacher Report, in 666 career games, Rex averaged 14.6 points with 2.7 assists a night. During his long career, Rex also played for the Charlotte Hornets, the Washington Bullets and the Miami Heat. After he retired, Chapman spent time as a television analyst and worked with the Phoenix Suns, the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Denver Nuggets.

[Image credit: Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images]

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