http://www.orangeandwhite.com/...owers-arrest-n/
Da'Quan Bowers is in trouble.
How much, and with what consequences, remains to be seen.
What we do know is that the former Clemson star and current Tampa Bay Bucs' defensive end was arrested Monday on gun charges after he informed authorities at LaGuardia Airport in New York City that he was carrying a .40 caliber hand gun in his luggage.
He has been released from jail after posting bail, and faces a court date in New York on April 25, according to the Tampa Tribune.
According to tweets by Stephen Holder, the Tampa Bay Bucs beat writer for the Tampa Bay Times, Bowers "appears to have unwittingly traveled to New York City with the gun in a checked bag."
He discovered the gun in his bag during his weekend trip to New York, and when he arrived at the airport to return to North Carolina "went to the counter to make them aware...Likely wanted to check the bag for the return trip."
Holder also reports that the gun is registered to Bowers, though it is unknown in what state.
The Bucs have issued no official comment, and have no plans to comment until more facts are gathered.
The charges on which Bowers was arrested are the same as those faced by Plaxico Burris of the New York Giants after accidentally discharging a gun in a nightclub and shooting himself in the leg. Burris was also charged with reckless endangerment. Burris, after agreeing to a plea bargain, served 20 months in prison.
Bowers ran afoul of New York law because he did not have a license to possess the gun in New York. According to a report today in the New York Daily News, Bowers had the .40 caliber handgun and a loaded magazine in his luggage. The magazine was reportedly not attached to the weapon.
He was charged with two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. The charge carries a mandatory 3.5 year prison sentence upon conviction.
Situations such as appears to be the case with Bowers are generally handled with leniency, according to the Tampa Bay Times report.
