Harris Smith # 17 Wide Reciever, New York Giants

[RandolphScott]

Trouble-prone Giants receiver Plaxico Burress arrived at the 17th Precinct to turn himself in after he shot himself in the leg with an illegal handgun at a Manhattan nightclub.

 

Burress will plead not guilty at his 1 p.m. arraignment today, his lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, said after he turned himself in around 8 a.m. Burress was then taken to central booking.

 

"We're entering a plea of not guilty. We're going to let the system do what the styem does. We will cooperate to the extent that we can, consistant with his legal rights," Brafman said outside the E. 51st Street station.

 

Burress arrived in an Escalade, and walked into the precinct without a cane, despite his leg injury.

 

"Plaxico is a serious professional athtlete in a difficult legal situation, and he intends to handle it in a responsible fashion," said Brafman, who is famous for getting P. Diddy aquitted of a 1999 weapons charge.

 

When asked how he thought this situation would play out, Brafman said, "I've stopped trying to predict outcomes. I hope if plays out well, and he can continue his career."

 

It was discovered yesterday that Burress had desperately tried to sidestep the law after the Midtown incident - getting workers at the hot spot and at a top city hospital to lie for him, sources told The Post yesterday.

 

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Detectives last night seized the .40-caliber gun from his New Jersey home.

 

His web of deceit included:

 

* Taking his gun from the Midtown club Latin Quarter, where workers never called authorities and even cleaned up afterward.

 

* Spending about 90 minutes making frantic calls to figure out where his wound could be discreetly treated.

 

* Getting special treatment at New York-Cornell Hospital, where he gave his name as Harris Smith, saying he'd been shot at an Applebee's restaurant. Nonetheless, hospital workers recognized him as Plaxico Burress, sources said, and the gunshot was not reported, as required by law.

 

Police found the gun last night at the Super Bowl hero's Totowa home, sources said, after they were told it was in his kitchen. He was not home at the time.

 

Burress, 31, will be slapped with a felony gun charge and plead not guilty, his lawyer said.

 

Cops believe that Burress - who took the bullet cleanly through his right thigh at the club late Friday night - was with teammate Antonio Pierce and an unidentified woman as they worked the phones to choose a hospital, sources said.

 

Detectives were checking whether a Giants team trainer was among those called for advice, the sources said.

 

The trio was logged in at 2:45 a.m. by a New York-Cornell security guard, according to records reviewed by the police. The facility is connected with The Hospital for Special Surgery - a popular choice among elite athletes, where Burress was once treated himself. He was out about 10 hours later.

 

Hospital workers recognized Burress and agreed not to report the incident to police, the sources said.

 

 

35 million dollar...whoopsie!

 

[Nas]

From the daily news (this guy doesn't mince words)"

 

"How dumb do you have to be to load a gun you don't have a license to carry and then carry it into a crowded club?" one of the guys working the door at the Radisson said Sunday morning. "Where did he think he was going when he went out that night - to the front lines?"

 

[Nesta]

Must be nice being a pro athlete or celebrity.

You get in some trouble then enjoy the weekend before turning yourself in to authorities without consequences.

[ppodlesny]

Harris Smith...LOL! couldn't come up with a better name for crying out loud