Sebastian Telfair's 3.5-Year Jail Sentence Affirmed by Court

Today, Sebastian Telfair's conviction for criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree was affirmed by the NY Appellate Division, Second Department.

Telfair was originally arrested in 2017. According to court documents, after a search of his vehicle in the early morning hours of June 11, 2017, police recovered numerous items, including luggage, clothing, sneakers, jewelry, various bags, two small bags of marijuana, and cash. The officers also found a loaded 45-caliber gun in the center console of the truck, and three additional handguns and ammunition in the flatbed area.

Telfair was charged with various crimes related to weapons and ammunition possession, as well as certain vehicle and traffic violations. After trial, the jury convicted Telfair of one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree in connection with the .45 caliber gun recovered from the center console of the truck.

At issue on appeal was whether the prosecution was permitted to introduce evidence of prior firearm possession to prove that Telfair knowingly possessed firearms when he was arrested on June 11, 2017. The defense unsuccessfully argued that the evidence was too remote and that its probative value was outweighed by the potential for prejudice to Telfair.

Telfair's 3.5 year sentence, first issued by NY Supreme Court, Kings County in 2019, is now affirmed.

Earlier this year, Telfair's sister pled guilty to threatening his wife after his wife testified against Sebastian in court.

Jason Morrin is a third-year law student at Hofstra Law School in New York. He is the President of Hofstra’s Sports and Entertainment Law Society. Additionally, he is a Law Clerk at Geragos & Geragos. He can be found on Twitter @Jason_Morrin.