Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams is serving a two-game ban for a PED violation, but it is possible the third-year player could face additional NFL discipline under the personal conduct policy. A murky situation has developed in Detroit.
Officers placed Williams in handcuffs and nearly booked him on a gun charge, according to WXYZ’s Ross Jones, who reports the former first-round pick was to be taken to jail before being released from custody shortly prior to being booked. This incident occurred after midnight Oct. 8. This has brought a belated charge against the wide receiver, but the matter took a circuitous route to reach this point.
Williams and his brother were pulled over in Detroit, and the stop led to Williams — the passenger in the vehicle — admitting he was in possession of a gun without a concealed pistol license, Jones reports. The arresting officer informed Williams he would be taken into custody. The officer’s bodycam footage includes Williams repeatedly saying he was a Lions player. “I play for the Lions, bro. I’m Jameson Williams,” the 23-year-old wideout said. While Williams was placed in the back of a squad car, he was not taken to jail. His Lions status appears to have indeed proved beneficial — at least initially.
A sergeant who arrived to back up the arresting officers soon made several calls to superiors asking if Williams needed to be arrested on this gun charge, Ross reports, adding that the sergeant’s cellphone wallpaper included a Lions logo. The sergeant is heard indicating Williams would indeed be taken to jail on the charge, but a lieutenant then called back to indicate no booking would be necessary. The sergeant thanked the lieutenant, per Ross, and took Williams out of handcuffs.
Williams’ gun was soon returned as well, and no arrest warrant or police report initially emerged. An internal affairs investigation has since been launched, Ross reports, adding that a development last week has since resulted in Williams being hit with the gun charge he was set to face. This will ensure the Detroit pass catcher would be subject to another suspension, pending an NFL investigation.
One game remains on Williams’ PED ban. The Alabama alum has already run afoul of two NFL policies, having been popped under the gambling umbrella last year. Williams was found to have bet on non-NFL sporting events while on team grounds. A suspension under the personal conduct policy could now be in play.
Officers initially told Jones only one gun was found during the arrest, the one belonging to Williams’ brother, who had a license to carry. Police chief James White learning of the second gun — which resided under the passenger seat — led to portions of the bodycam video being shared, which has shed light on Williams’ actions that morning. The Lions released a statement indicating Williams informed them of the arrest, and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport adds the team notified the league soon after.
“Jameson made us aware immediately that he was a passenger in a routine traffic stop on October 8th,” a Lions statement reads. “We discussed the incident with him and have kept the league informed of what we know. We understand he was released without incident or citation. It is now our understanding that the Detroit Police Department is revisiting the matter. Jameson has hired an attorney, and we will not be commenting further out of respect for the legal process.”
Given a more prominent role on offense following Josh Reynolds‘ free agency defection, Williams has shown promise in his third season. The Lions’ No. 2 wideout is averaging 21.2 yards per reception (17 catches, 361 yards) and has caught three touchdown passes. It is not certain a suspension would come, and the nature of this internal investigation may well point to any potential NFL discipline taking place in 2025. Still, Williams facing three suspensions in three years would introduce more hurdles as he attempts to make a case for a long-term run in Detroit.
After the Pearsall situation I completely understand him feeling like he needs protection but come on man you could have easily got the proper license or had somebody carrying it for you. I just can’t comprehend why these guys don’t realize they are million dollar assets stop hurting your value
Different conversation but we all have a 2nd amendment right. As a concealed carry permit owner in GA where its now constitutional carry i still have it just in case…Concealed carry license is an infringement on our rights but if those are the state laws you need to obide by them until you vote your way out of it. He’s not a ‘thug’ or an ‘idiot’ for having a gun, just follow the laws.
By the time you pull out your concealed piece homer you will be pushing up daisies. Try learning how to spell, then start worrying about your rights.
Great and intelligent insight Teacher, you are so wise….You do realize it’s easier to pull out your non-concealed ‘piece’ (open carry with no permit btw) to protect yourself correct? Making the concealed carry permit stupid in the first place.
Ty. You talk a good game like most btw but when push comes to shove it’s always the same. Words. After coming back from Afghanistan, your kind stand out to me easily. Big talk.
Teacher….
If I was to carry, I have never been in a situation to have to pull a piece, and hope I never have to. I believe that it is a great responsibility to actually carry. I would also believe that training would be an organized attempt to eliminate “pushing up daisies” by anyone but the aggressor. I also think that we should be less concerned about our pronouns like “Their, There, They’re, Then, Than, To, Too, Two, Write, Right, Flower, Flour” over our Civil Rights.
Maybe if we exercised our 2nd Amendment Rights as much as our 1st Amendment Rights, we would live in a more polite and compassionate society.
Ifs lol. Ignorance is bliss.
Take out the et in asset my friend and you will understand why.
I certainly hope you’re not a teacher…no kid deserves you.
Hope springs eternal.
Arrogant and condescending is no way to go thru life.
I live in MD and have a conceal carry that covers MI ♂️ IJS it’s not that hard to CYA. Especially for a millionaire he has the time and money, he can do a whole private one on one class♂️
He could have got his permit while serving his gambling suspension.
Well he did go to Saban’s Alabama which sets such standards that his player’s are above following school rules (now NFL) and the law.
@ak pls comment on the officers behavior and on the situation generally.
I didn’t see the bodycam, but I will try if you like.
Okay, so I searched high and low, but all I found are edited and incomplete clips.
I’ll say that an “unarrest” is very unusual. I myself have only done it twice personally, and in both cases, I found that there existed evidence that disproved my earlier probable cause. One case was a burglary where we got in contact with the owner after making the arrest and securing the suspect, and the owner said that he didn’t care that the person came in (it was an owned but currently vacant residence). The other was a D.U.I. car wreck where I found evidence of a head injury that I decided explained the driver’s behavior.
Basically, police are not supposed to arrest (or charge-not all charges are arrestable) without probable cause, which is one of the three basic levels of proof (reasonable suspicion->probable cause->guilty beyond a reasonable doubt). Probable cause means that a crime occurred and this person probably did it. Sounds basic, but when you get into different statutes and their respective elements, you see how it can be applied functionally to separate arrestable scenarios from non-arrestable scenarios. So, if you have probable cause, you need to make an arrest. Practically speaking, you must consider if the victim does not wish prosecution (for some crimes, especially egregious or violent ones, prosecution will usually proceed anyway if the case can be proven sufficiently without victim cooperation-D.V. is a good example). Laws and practical execution of this concept vary from state to state, sometimes significantly, but this is the basic functional idea of making an arrest in the United States.
So, with all of that in mind, we can see here that there exists pretty rock solid probable cause to make a charge in this case. None of the websites describing Williams’ charge list the statute that he was charged with originally, but the best I can find seems to suggest that it was 750.227, which concerns the illegal carrying of a concealed weapon. The elements establish that the defendant must have in his possession a designated type of “dangerous weapon” (mostly a list of knives) or pistol concealed or in any vehicle. The exceptions are for the person’s house, business, or by state concealed permit. The penalty is a felony level and a max penalty five years imprisonment or max fine of $2500.
The gun was beneath Williams’ seat. Williams admitted to owning the gun (I saw some articles claiming that the weapon was “registered” to Williams, but Michigan does not have a state firearms registry-he may have instead been the original purchaser, which is recorded at the time of sale, or this may be an error, as many people assume that all states have registries or that ”registered” is a byword for “owned”). Williams does not have a permit.
So it seems pretty clear that the elements of the charge were fulfilled. I don’t know how it works in Michigan, but I would be shocked if a felony level offense is discretionary in terms of arrest. To give some context, some charges are discretionary to officers as to whether the defendant is arrested. This is almost always minor stuff, and varies from state to state. In my state, it’s mostly comprised of things like some specific traffic offenses, or simple possession of marijuana, or other such things that are low level misdemeanors. This, again, varies widely from state to state, but I would be completely shocked if a felony, even a low level felony, is discretionary.
So, probable cause exists (meaning Williams is clearly in violation of the law), and the law seems clearly arrestable. The state is the victim for this crime, as it’s a public order type of statute, so there’s not a victim to lobby for no prosecution. Unarresting him is very puzzling. Even if the state decided to not go through with the charge, that would be up to a prosecutor after the fact. Williams would still be arrested. After the probable cause is developed, and the arrest made, you don’t “undo” it when everything is in order.
The only reason that I can think of that it was done, again without knowing the practicalities and allowances in Michigan, was to do Williams a favor. That may not have been solely due to the fact that he played for the Lions (the small clip I saw made it seem like the officer who first talked to him and arrested him didn’t even know who he was, though he could have been playing it off I suppose). Williams, in the short clips that I saw, seemed pretty cooperative, if nervous. They may have just been doing it to be nice. But in any case, the unarrest is a peculiar and borderline unethical action here. The state can do Williams a favor-they drop the charges later or plea him to a lower one-but that decision is not made roadside. They had a clear violation, and it looks like they should have booked him and given him a bond hearing to await his case.
Here is the important caveat-I did not see anything with the sergeant or lieutenant or whomever who instructed the arresting officers to release Williams (or have them permission). Calling to check on the arrestability of a charge by a junior officer isn’t optimal but it’s not unusual at all, especially in judgement calls, unusual situations, new laws, or with inexperienced officers. It seems pretty clear to me that this was arrestable, but again, I don’t work in Michigan, and I didn’t hear what the supervisor said.
So, after all of that, I conclude by saying that it did indeed seem odd to me, and I would be curious to know how the prosecutors’ office would handle potential penalties for Williams going forward, given the strange circumstances of having probable cause but no arrest (which means no bond or detention).
Wow, thank you for going through everything in such detail, I appreciate you taking the time to type all that out.
-I think the officers involved could potentially face some form of disciplinary action down the line.
-So he was never arrested, will he have to turn himself in at some point?
That’s what I don’t know. If he was charged and then released (called “field booking” in some places), then he would have to show up for his court date. That’s why this is confusing-it’s a felony charge, but Williams was never booked and, as such, never had a bond hearing. So I don’t know at all what his status is without the authorities announcing that. If he wasn’t charged, and the state wished to do so, I think that they’d have to seek a warrant and re-arrest him. It’s pretty messy, if it is as it appears to me from a distance.
And yes, I would definitely expect discipline for not making an arrest on a felony charge with probable cause. Crimes that have enhancements for subsequent offenses (meaning, the second or third or what have you increases penalties) are especially important to keep track of. If the offender does the violation again, you want him/her to face the second offense version, not the initial.
Thank you for giving us your insight, it is always appreciated.
Yeah this is a messier case then it needed to be from what I have read. The ‘Field Booking’ is interesting, this is going to be an odd story to follow.
Agreed, and thank you.
Dude is throwing away his future man lol
Finish the rookie contract and then be someone else’s problem. Sheesh.
He shouldn’t need a permit to exercise his 2nd Amendment rights. In 29 states he wouldn’t need to.
Fair enough, but until that is recognized as the law of the land, in Michigan he does and he didn’t.
If he’s a knucklehead he needs much more than a permit.
Teacher
Please clarify your comment and explain the justification. Always looking to be legal.
Thank you.
What militia do you belong to ?
The beauty of having laws is that, right or wrong, you know what they are. Follow them and you are fine.
Agree, whether you agree with them or not.
If you’re stopped by LEOs just comply and don’t be childish…….and they’re not your
‘bro’.
Yet, I’m sure all the NFL benefits can swell some of these kids minds as they likely have lots of ‘free’ based on popularity and recognition. Could be as intoxicating as a good bourbon.
I was willing to give the benefit of the doubt with gambling – its legal most everywhere now. I can buy some confusion.
But this guy just doesn’t get it.
I love the rare occasion when this guy actually plays for my football team. But he is clearly stupid.
I was wrong. I want to delete this post, but instead I will leave it for my own shame.
The gun was not unlicensed. It belongs to the driver of the vehicle and it was underneath the passenger seat where Jamo was sitting. That is why there was no arrest. The gun wasn’t even confiscated! That is proof that no law was broken.
I commented too fast, I was wrong. I don’t think that Jamo will ever see this post, but if he does, I’m sorry for my bad take.
There was a second gun. His. No permit.
Both were licensed to his brother (the driver).
You rarely find someone in a sports forum who will admit they are wrong or made a mistake….so I respect those you can laugh at themselves and handle a bit of embarrassment.
This guy is acting like he was a raiders draft pick.
I don’t know if you should make that Raiders jab, my friend…you know, considering, um, recent history.
Ready for all the saints in the chat to dogpile on this young man for making a bad choice
*A* bad choice, as in singular?
“a” implies singular. 1.) Gambling 2.) PED/PES 3.) Gun Posession
Or “a” lot?
He is only 23 years old. He needs to realize his pro football paycheck is in jeopardy.
“Williams repeatedly saying he was a Lions player. “I play for the Lions, bro. I’m Jameson Williams” stuff is not a pass. Young man needs to wise up.
Plaxico Burress is still the greatest ‘gun carrying’ NFL idiot of all time. Shooting yourself in the leg!
Wasn’t his fault…..he ‘ain’t done nothin’
Confirmed – He is stupid.
I said it for the last suspension. This guy is slowly becoming complete waste of time.
Comments open… for now?
I’ll leave the “update the Amendment to reflect muskets have been replaced by semiautomatics” argument alone
I will point out that permits are not just to protect Joe Public … especially since who commits crimes with their registered gun … but also the men & women on the job.
I don’t think it should be a state issue; it should be a federal/law of the land issue but that’s not a black hole I want to fall into
fwiw: I have FL, UT & NY CCW so I’m no hypocrite lol
The issue is that we have no intention of jailing bad guys. If the law was a mandatory 10-year federal sentence for carrying a gun without a permit, the number of bad guys carrying guns will be close to -0-.
The way I understand the law is that it matters where and how the gun was in the car. If the gun was in the glove compartment and loaded somewhere where they could reach it the 2nd amendment doesn’t really apply. You can own a gun as long as you obtained it legally and transport it according to each states laws. Most states say a gun has to be transported unloaded and either in the trunk or out of reach. I might be wrong but I don’t think so. There are exceptions of course. But if he was charged with carrying a concealed weapon that’s whole different game. That means it was loaded and on him out of sight which you need a permit for, Again in most states. Correct me if I’m wrong.
Ha ha ha
Jameson really didn’t do anything wrong in this situation. The cops made the mistake as far as I can tell. I don’t see the NFL punishing him for this, but I have been wrong before.
Waiting for AK to comment to give us some perspective.
I left a comment (some might say chapter book) above in a reply to el_chapo’s comment, if you like.
He’s really covering all the bases on ways to get suspended from the NFL
I’m not trying to say this is ok or anything but he’s a professional athlete with millions to his name. He needs to protect himself.
That doesn’t excuse him from getting a permit.
If I read this correctly, his brother had a gun he was licensed to carry. So he has at least one gun to protect himself. And with his money, there is no reason he couldn’t get a license.
And lastly, he is probably better off with some fake jewelry and handing it over it over if he gets held up. That’s what you have insurance for.
Agree, from himself!!
PES suspension and he hasn’t been charged with anything as of now.
Slowly becoming the Ja Morant of the NFL. Great talent, seemedly not a bad person or anything, but always missing time due to poor choices.
“Seemedly” isn’t a word.
Talented or not, quit hurting your team. If he makes plays and the team makes the SB, all will be forgivin anyway …
Why when these players have hit lottery by playing in nfl do they feel the need to wannabee gangster it up carrying firearms ? I understand for some it’s culture they grew-up with but they have so much to lose. Thought the rookie symposium was meant to beat that into their heads. No firearms, no hard drugs, n stop beating up women.
No firearms? Should he give up his freedom of speech as well?
He should donate his brain for scientific studies, immediately.
I imagine the Chiefs monitor all arrest reports around the league to discover who they can pursue at the trade deadline 🙂
This entry is very misleading.
Jameson Williams HAS NOT YET been charged. And his lawyer does not believe he will face any charges, as the gun was legally registered, and the driver of the car had a valid CPL license.
How is this misleading. The article says charges are coming. Also he admitted to having a gun but not a concealed permit. Having a legally registered gun does not give you permission to carry concealed. This investigation also revolves around the police let him go at the scene without charging.
It’s misleading because he is not yet facing gun charges, or any charges.
Facing POSSIBLE gun charges, maybe. But the current title is misleading.
The owner/driver of the car has a valid CPL. Which allows the gun to be in the car.
It’s technical, but because the gun was not concealed on William’s person, but rather in the car, it would fall on the owner/driver. Who has a legal CPL License.
Again, this is why Williams lawyer doesn’t believe any charges will be filed on Jameson.
You cannot say he is facing gun charge(s) until those charges have been filed, which they have not.
There were two guns in the car. One on backseat which belonged to his brother. Other one was registered to Jameson and was under seat. His brother told police there were two guns in car. Of course his lawyer is going to say that.
And the lawyer is correct. The key is that the gun was concealed in the car, not on Jameson’s person. Thus the concealed carry of the gun(s) would fall on the driver, who is also the vehicle owner, and who possesses a legal CPL license.
The gun hidden under the seat was Jamesons. I’m not sure ifvyou understand what a concealed permit is. He does not have one.
It’s misleading because he has not yet been charged. Thus, he isn’t currently facing a gun charge, but facing a POSSIBLE gun charge.
His lawyer doesn’t believe he will be charged, because the driver/owner of the car had the proper credentials (CPL) to carry/transport the guns, and the gun was concealed in the car, not on William’s person.
Vegas must have odds on what his next potential suspension will be for.
Look at all of these boring people who never did anything stupid in their 20’s.
There is a difference between between having done multiple stupid things in your 20s and facing the repercussions including loss of job and doing stupid things but expecting a pass because you play football.
Did he kick your dog or sleep with your wife? You seem to have a big chip on your shoulder.
No, I’d just like him to use his head for more than carrying his helmet and contribute to his team.