MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Billy Ray Turner, one of the defendants in the murder case of former basketball star Lorenzen Wright pleaded guilty Monday to a gun charge in a separate case.
Turner had been set for a jury trial Monday. He pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a gun after the district attorney dismissed a second gun charge related to his fiancé’s handgun found in his home. Turner said the gun was for his protection.
Turner faces eight to 30 years, as opposed to a possible 60 years with a jury trial.
Turner was charged with being a felon in possession of a handgun after officers found two guns at his home after he was arrested in connection to the murder of basketball star Lorenzen Wright.
Court records show him in possession of a .38 revolver and 9 mm handgun. Prior Tennessee criminal records for Turner list charges of aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping and cocaine sales from 1992.
His sentencing on the gun charges was set for July 26.
Turner is accused of helping Sherra Wright kill her husband. He pleaded not guilty in January to charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder in Wright’s death. That trial is set for Sept. 16.
