San Francisco 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith is charged with three felony counts of illegal possession of an assault weapon, Santa Clara County prosecutors said Wednesday in a release, obtained by NFL Media.
KNTV-TV first reported the news.
Smith is expected to surrender himself later this month, prosecutors said.
The charges arose from a June 29, 2012, house party hosted by Smith at his home in the San Jose, Calif., area. Here is how the Santa Clara Office of the District Attorney described what happened:
The party included a $10 entrance fee. Gang members arrived, paid the fee and eventually a confrontation happened.
First, someone fired a handgun into Smith's garage. Smith then fired a handgun from his balcony to dissipate the crowd. A friend of Smith later fired the same gun in the air several times.
Ultimately, two people were shot by an "unknown party guest," prosecutors said, and Smith was stabbed.
While investigating what happened, deputies with the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office found multiple assault weapons, of which three were deemed illegal. All three were bought in Arizona, prosecutors said, including two purchased by Smith on Dec. 10, 2011, one day before the 49ers played the Arizona Cardinals.
Smith and current Tennessee Titans tight end Delanie Walker also were named in civil suits from the men who said they were shot at the party. The suits accuse Smith of firing weapons and owning illegal firearms. Walker, however, will not face charges stemming from last year's incident.
"Delanie Walker did not shoot one of the assault weapons," deputy district attorney for Santa Clara County Brian Buckelew said, via The Tennessean. "Delanie Walker did shoot a handgun, and that was after gang members had already started shooting at Aldon's garage. So the purpose of Delanie Walker shooting up in the air was to try and get the gang members out of there. It could be viewed as self-defense, or a reasonable means to try and dissipate a crazy situation."
Wednesday's news was another bad sign for the 24-year-old Smith, who currently is at a rehab treatment facility after being arrested in September on suspicion of DUI -- his second DUI arrest in two years. Smith voluntarily checked into the facility just over two weeks ago and is expected to miss a month or so.
In a statement, the 49ers acknowledged that they were aware of the weapons charges:
"The 49ers organization is aware of the recent developments with Aldon arising from an incident at his home in 2012. We recognize the serious nature of this situation, as does Aldon, and will continue to monitor it closely. As this is an ongoing legal matter, we will have no further comment."
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