NFL player learns his fate after being busted with stolen gun
Los Angeles Rams defensive lineman Ethan Westbrooks has accepted a plea deal after being caught with a stolen, loaded gun during a September 2017 arrest.
Officers found the firearm — which was loaded with 13 rounds of ammunition — after pulling Westbrooks over for speeding in Kern County, California. The firearm had originally been reported stolen in 2009, TMZ Sports reported.
“He was arrested on suspicion of receiving stolen property, carrying a loaded firearm, carrying a stolen loaded firearm, grand theft of a firearm and possession of a high-capacity magazine,” according to the Los Angeles Times.
Westbrooks ended up only being charged with a misdemeanor for carrying a loaded firearm. His attorney entered a plea of not guilty in November, and the lineman appeared in court Friday.
KGET reported that Westbrooks was sentenced to one day in jail and received credit for time already served. He will also be on probation for three years and must pay $570 in fines.
This sentence brings finality to the legal issues that Westbrooks went through in 2017, as the firearm arrest was actually his second of the year.
In March 2017, Westbrooks was arrested on charges of domestic violence following an incident involving the mother of his child.
The woman suffered a visible, upper-body injury and Westbrooks was booked in a Sacramento jail. But in the end, the Sacramento County district attorney’s office declined to file charges.
One month after the charges were dropped, the Rams re-signed Westbrooks to a one-year deal for the 2017 season. Five months later, and several weeks before his gun arrest, the Rams signed him to an extension through the 2018 season.
Westbrooks will likely return to the Rams for his fifth season and is expected to be a valuable reserve along their defensive line.
He has eight sacks over the last three seasons and started nine games in 2017.
With the Rams signing Ndamukong Suh to play alongside Aaron Donald, Westbrooks should enjoy the one-on-one blocks he is likely to see while the two stars get their fair share of double-teams.
Westbrooks was an undrafted free agent out of West Texas A&M and latched on with the Rams for the 2014 season.
Prior to his run-ins with the law, he was best known for being the player who beat out Michael Sam for the last defensive line spot that year.
While many NFL teams began their voluntary offseason workouts this week, the Rams will have to wait until Monday to start their offseason program.
Westbrooks will be able to participate in all offseason sessions, but it remains to be seen if he will face any discipline from the league or the Rams for his legal issues.
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