Ex-NBA player Javaris Crittenton pleaded guilty to manslaughter in a stunning gangland killing.
The former first-round pick admitted on Wednesday in an Atlanta courtroom he was the triggerman in the fatal shooting of a 22-year-old mother of four.
He was sentenced to 23 years in prison.
Crittenton, an admitted member of a Los Angeles set of the Crips street gang, was shooting at a rival in 2011 when he missed and killed Julian Jones, prosecutors said.
The once-promising hoop star was originally charged with murder and a slew of other crimes in the deadly drive-by but cut a deal and pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Jones’ death had roots in an Atlanta gang battle, prosecutors said.
Crittenton, now 27, was seeking revenge against Trontavious Stephens, a reputed Bloods member who he believed robbed him four months before outside a barber shop.
The point guard, who was a high school teammate of Rockets All-Star forward Dwight Howard, tried to kill Stephens during a pair of botched drive-by shootings in August 2011, prosecutors said.
In the first attack, he opened fire from a Porsche on Stephens’ brother and missed in a case of mistaken identity.
He spotted Stephens and Jones five days later and unloaded from the back seat of an SUV.
Crittenton fired wildly and hit Jones by mistake. Stephens wasn’t injured.
His driver that night, his 29-year-old cousin Douglas Gamble, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
The case brought a shocking end to Crittenton’s troubled career.
The talented athlete admitted joining the California-based Mansfield Gangster Crips in 2007 during his rookie year with the Los Angeles Lakers.
He was later traded to the Memphis Grizzlies before eventually landing a spot on the Washington Wizards.
He and teammate Gilbert Arenas battled over a card game on a team flight in 2009 and later pulled guns on one another in the Wizards’ locker room.
Crittenton and Arenas pleaded guilty to misdemeanor gun charges in 2010.
His career tanked after the plea, and he was reduced to playing in a developmental league before FBI agents busted him in 2011 in the killing of Jones.
Crittenton had claimed innocence since the arrest. The case was set for trial on Wednesday, but he had a change of heart and pleaded guilty.