Pacers’ Player May Face Jail for Firing Gun Outside Strip Club

Prosecutors say they may seek jail time for Indiana Pacers guard Stephen Jackson if he violated his probation for firing a gun outside a strip club last week.

Jackson has been on probation after he was convicted for misdemeanor assault and battery charges in September 2005 for his involvement in the 2004 brawl between Pacers players and fans during a game against the Detroit Pistons, the Indianapolis Star reported.

Jackson was arraigned in a Marion County, Ind., court on Thursday on a felony charge of criminal recklessness and misdemeanor battery and disorderly conduct relating to the incident at an Indianapolis strip club.

Jackson told police last week that he was slugged in the mouth by another man during an altercation then struck by a car outside Club Rio before he took out a gun and fired several shots in the air in self defense.

The incident began inside the club where patrons and Pacers players began arguing, police said. The players said they left the club, but the patrons followed them outside where the fight took place.

Jackson was at the club with teammates Jamaal Tinsley, Marquis Daniels and Jimmie Hunter, police said, noting that no one was arrested.

James Burdick, a lawyer representing Jackson, said today that his client has completed the terms of his 12-month probation. He added Rochester Hills District Judge Julie Nicholson held his probationary period open until an unrelated $12,000 restitution case is resolved.