MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Timberwolves guard Malik Beasley pleaded guilty Monday to making violent threats during an incident earlier this year at his Plymouth home. Beasley faces 120 days in the workhouse, according to the Hennepin County Attorney's Office.
The 23-year-old appeared in a remote hearing Monday afternoon and pleaded guilty to one felony count of threats of violence. As part of the negotiations, prosecutors agreed to drop a felony fifth-degree drug possession charge.
The Hennepin County Attorney's Office says if Beasley successfully completes three years of probation, the felony will be reduced to a misdemeanor. Beasley, who spent his first season with the Timberwolves during the 2019-20 season, will also be allowed to petition for that reduction after completing his second year of probation.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Hennepin County District Court, police responded to a home in Plymouth on Sept. 26, after two separate 911 calls reported a man pointing an assault rifle at a family.
When officers arrived, Beasley walked down at the driveway yelling at them, according to prosecutors.
Officers talked with the family who had called 911. They told police that the family was on a Parade of Homes tour when they pulled up to the roped-off residence. The family said they assumed it was closed, and decided to look for another home to view.
While on the shoulder of the road in front of the house, the family told police that they heard a tapping on the car window and saw Beasley pointing the assault rifle at them, telling them to get off his property.
The family said they also saw him pointing the rifle at them as they drove away. There was a 13-year-old in the car, according to the criminal complaint.
Police also talked with a second 911 caller, a witness who corroborated the incident.
Officers got a search warrant for Beasley's house and found three firearms including an assault rifle similar to the one described by witnesses, a shotgun and a handgun.
Because Beasley's home had surveillance cameras, officers were able to view video of Beasley grabbing the rifle and leaving the house around the time the 911 calls came in, according to the complaint.
During Monday's hearing, Beasley admitted that he was getting frustrated because he had been incorrectly listed as being on the Parade of Homes. When asked by his attorney if he could have retreated rather than point a weapon, which he also agreed to be in possession of, Beasley said. "I could have retreated, I learned my lesson," said Beasley, according to a release from the Hennepin County Attorney's Office. "I was not in my right mind. I'm ready to move on."
Beasley admitted that there were multiple people in the car when he pointed the rifle, but said he couldn't tell the age of the occupants. He also acknowledged that he acted recklessly in confronting the people inside the car with a rifle.
