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File this one under "Holy Crap": the 20-year-old son of former Laker Nick Van Exel has been charged with capital murder in Texas. And the kid's attorney says he did it.
According to the Associated Press, Nickey Van Exel (Nick's son) was arrested last night and is being held on a $1 million bond. The state is charging him with killing 23-year-old Bradley Eyo, who was found with a gunshot wound to his upper body outside of Dallas. Paul Johnson, Nickey's attorney, has reportedly told the AP that his client shot Eyo when the two were engaged in "horseplay" and that he didn't know the gun was loaded.
Then he "panicked," moved the body and tossed the gun into a creek. Umm, yeah... those are not things you should be doing after you've just killed someone. Johnson says, "It's a real sad situation. Emotions are running high, and, obviously, we recognize that some very bad decisions were made on how he responded."
The elder Van Exel, apparently, works for the Atlanta Hawks these days as a player development instructor. We are saddened for him and for everyone else involved in this horrible event.