Report: Williams to surrender Monday

Ex-Net to be charged with manslaughter in shooting

NEW YORK (CNNSI.com) -- Former New Jersey Nets star Jayson Williams will surrender to prosecutors Monday on charges of manslaughter in the death of a limo driver found dead at his estate last week, WNBC-TV reported Friday.

Costas Christofi, 55, was found shot to death at Williams' 65-acre New Jersey estate Feb. 14. Previous reports indicated the current NBC commentator was playfully twirling one of his many shotguns when the weapon accidentally went off.

A source close to the case told the station that negotiations were ongoing with the attorney for Williams, who "was reckless with the weapon, [and] he was mishandling the weapon."

"Either way he is going to be charged," one investigator told WNBC.

Authorities have not said who fired the gun, and Williams, a normally talkative NBC analyst, has not publicly spoken about the shooting.

Neither have about a dozen Harlem Globetrotters and other friends who were at the estate during the Feb. 14 shooting. Some of them at first reported Costas Christofi's death as a suicide.

Williams, who turned 34 on Friday, has freely admitted to mistakes in life, episodes he describes in a 2000 autobiography as "a lot of beers and barroom brawls and some scrapes with the law and too many fights and some yelling matches with coaches and a bunch of headlines."

In 1992, he was accused of smashing a beer mug over a patron's head at a Chicago bar. Two years later, he was accused of firing a semiautomatic weapon into the parking lot at the Meadowlands sports complex.

He writes in his autobiography that he almost shot New York Jets wide receiver Wayne Chrebet while firing a shotgun on his skeet-shooting range. And Williams faces a hearing next week on a charge that he pushed a police officer last November in a New Jersey bar.

Friends describe Williams as a generous, happy guy who at times has gotten a little out of hand. But they say he has left his wildest days behind him, getting married, donating to AIDS charities and adopting the children of his two dead sisters.

"Jayson is a nice guy," said former heavyweight champion Larry Holmes. "He gets angry every now and then. We all do. But I don't know if he'll get angry enough to kill somebody or shoot somebody."

Williams' lawyer, Joseph Hayden, initially called the shooting of Christofi an "unfortunate accident," then denied published reports describing the shooting as a result of Williams' horseplay.

He has not returned calls for comment this week. Williams' home number has been disconnected.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

 

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