Thread: Steve McNair Shot & Killed in Nashville

Feds arrest felon in sale of gun in McNair killing
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090717/...Vkc2FycmVzdGZl
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Federal prosecutors announced gun charges Friday against a convicted murderer who admitted he sold the pistol that was used to kill ex-NFL quarterback Steve McNair.

Adrian J. Gilliam Jr., 33, of LaVergne, Tenn., was arrested by agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

He is charged with being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. Conviction could bring a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, federal prosecutors said.

A criminal complaint says that Gilliam — who was convicted in 1993 in Florida for murder and attempted armed robbery — told police he sold the gun to the woman who later shot McNair.

McNair was shot to death on July 4 at his condo by his 20-year-old mistress, Sahel Kazemi, who then turned the gun on herself.

Investigators said Friday that Gilliam used a photo provided by police to identify Kazemi as the person who bought the gun. Gilliam was assigned a public defender at a hearing Friday afternoon, but a hearing to set bond was delayed until Wednesday.

"No one denies this is a tragedy," Gilliam's public defender Hugh Mundy said. "Steve McNair was one of Nashville's heroes. A lot of lives have already been ruined. But Mr. Gilliam is a decent, hard-working family man and there's no reason to ruin his life too."

Detectives traced the gun, a 9 mm Bryco/Jennings, to its 2002 sale at a pawn shop, according to the complaint. Gilliam eventually bought it from an individual for $100 about a year or year and a half ago. Investigators said Gilliam told them he bought the gun for protection after his home was burglarized, and police reports indicate he did report a burglary about the time of the gun purchase.

According to court documents, Gilliam told detectives he sold the gun to Kazemi for $100. Nashville Police Chief Ronal Serpas said at a news conference of federal and local officials Friday that Gilliam decided to sell the gun because his wife was afraid to have it in their house.

Gilliam was in federal custody awaiting his initial court appearance Friday afternoon. It wasn't immediately clear if he has an attorney.

Police said last week that Kazemi purchased "a fully loaded 9 mm pistol from a private individual" who met her in the parking lot of the mall where she worked at a Dave & Busters restaurant.

Kazemi met Gilliam when she was trying to sell her car. She mentioned to him that she was looking to buy a gun and he told her he had one for sale, police said. The sale took place two days before McNair's shooting, outside the restaurant where Kazemi worked and first met McNair.

Authorities believe McNair was asleep when Kazemi put the pistol to his head and pulled the trigger. She put two more slugs into his chest and a fourth bullet into the other side of his head before shooting herself.

McNair, a married father of four, walked away from the NFL last year. "Air McNair" was known as a gutsy quarterback who played through serious injuries and led his Tennessee Titans to a Super Bowl.

U.S. Attorney Edward Yarbrough said Kazemi's age did not make the sale of the gun illegal. A licensed dealer is barred from selling a gun to someone younger than 21, but private sales to people older than 18 are legal, he said.

Yarbrough said one of the top objectives of federal gun laws prohibiting felons from possessing guns is "to thwart and prevent violent crime such as the two deaths in this case."

Jim Cavanaugh, the ATF special agent in charge in Nashville, held up a pistol similar to the one used to kill McNair, and said, "A convicted felon cannot receive it, possess it, buy it, store it, hold it, shoot it, aim it, clean it, or do anything with it."

Though the gun sale in question did not involve a licensed gun dealer, the ATF recently warned all gun dealers in Tennessee that they must still comply with federal gun laws despite a new state law aimed at easing such requirements for weapons manufactured and sold in-state.

Slain ex-NFL star's alcohol level was twice limit
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090720/..._mcnair_killed
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Authorities say former NFL star Steve McNair had a blood-alcohol level twice the legal limit when his girlfriend shot him to death.

Tennessee Assistant Medical Examiner Feng Li said Monday that a toxicology report also showed a trace amount of marijuana in the body of Sahel Kazemi. Police say the 20-year-old Kazemi said shot McNair July 4 in a Nashville condo before killing herself.

Police say McNair was likely asleep when he was shot twice in the head and twice in the chest.

Li said there was no way to tell from the report how long before McNair's death he had been drinking.

Kazemi was arrested for drunken driving in Nashville two days before the shooting. Police video of the arrest showed her telling the officer that she was high.

You know, the more I see this on the news and think about it. I guess this is where I will criticize the skewed priorities of sports fans in this nation (I being one).

Yes, a top NFL player was murdered BUT ask yourself WHY. Here is this 36 year old MARRIED and FATHER of four who is out cavorting with local woman as if he was at the apex of his athletic career. This freewheeling lifestyle was based on misapprehension of his importance in the scheme of things as aided and abetted by his all forgiving and whorshiping fans.

I mean, he was shot to death by a young girl (closer to her teens then her adulthood) whose life was wrecked by the ages old routine of predotory males and their false promises, he was hailed as a hero by thousands who attended his funeral, as his philandering and late night partying were an integral part of perquisites of fortune and fame. I asked myself, what sort of an example did this set for the local high school football memebers that were in attendance? Or the younge athletes who watched and read about it? What message did it send them reguarding character and personal responsibilities? For me it doesn't bespeak any marked stage of maturity.

Why are we (sports or star fans) supposed to accept this death without any judgement or blame on Mcnair whatsoever? They keep looking at Kazemi and what she has done, but they don't seem to mention what he did to his wife,his children,the girlfriend,her family etc. I guess the more I thought about it, the more I think, his actions caused a reaction that ended two lives and dramatically change the lives of several other people.

I'm a huge sports fan (football and boxing) but I still can see things outside of the box. KWIM?

JMO lol

Reading the article, the thought came to me.....Isn't this what we nail and mock all our politicians for but 'accept' from celebrities? Why do we have this double standard? If it's wrong, it's wrong for all.

Unfortunately, his death was due to the behavior that he set in motion....the victims here are his children and family.....as is usually the case for all spouses and families of cheaters. He brought this to his own doorstep.

Police release messages between McNair, Kazemi
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091020/...xpY2VyZWxlYXM-
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Text messages between a woman and former NFL quarterback Steve McNair made in the hours before police say she shot him to death and turned the gun on herself support authorities' contention that she was spiraling out of control.

Nashville police released the 50 text messages Monday night as part of a case summary and detailed the exchanges between the two hours before the July 4 murder-suicide.

Sahel Kazemi (sah-HEHL' kah-ZEE'-mee) texted McNair on July 3 to say she was so stressed she might have a breakdown and asked for $2,000 to pay bills. One text said she might need to go to a hospital because she could hardly breathe.

Police say texts show McNair had someone transfer the money. The texts also show Kazemi meeting McNair at the Nashville condominium where he was shot. He asked her to leave the front door open for him.

Spokesman Don Aaron said he has been working to summarize the case for weeks and denied it was a response to a two-part report on CBS' "The Early Show" questioning the original investigation.

"If anyone has information that needs to come to the attention of the police department, we'll be happy to receive it as part of this investigation," Aaron told The Associated Press. "But at this juncture, there has been nothing uncovered that suggests this is not a murder-suicide."

The CBS report Monday interviewed friends portraying Kazemi as happy and showed that she had approximately $2,500 in her bank account at the time of her death.

Kazemi's texts to McNair talk of her showing furniture she planned to sell to some people and how she was at a store "trying to fix" her phone. She wanted to pay bills before going to work. When she said she could hardly breathe, McNair asked if she wanted him to come over. She said she would take a nap.

McNair texted her that afternoon, saying he had someone transfer the money.

Kazemi later texted McNair three times asking to be with him that night. He said he was having trouble getting his sons to sleep. But at that time, McNair was seen at a restaurant with friends. Kazemi texted she was going to his condo. He texted back at 12:38 a.m. that he was on his way and asked her to open the front door at 12:52 a.m. Kazemi told him at 1:14 a.m. it was open.

The last text was at 2:23 with Kazemi saying, "I am going to the store." But police say the message received by McNair's phone seemed oddly placed in the stream of messages and out of synch. A T-Mobile specialist told police it could be a service or technical problem that caused a delay in the delivery of the message.

The summary also details how police checked video footage from businesses in the area and found a law firm camera caught the backside of the condo where their bodies were found later July 4. The footage did not show any suspicious activity or departure in the early hours of that morning.

Police also list the shift manager at the restaurant where Kazemi worked who told officers something seemed to be bothering Kazemi on July 3. Sonya New said she asked Kazemi if everything was all right when the server told her of her DUI arrest on July 2. The manager also knew of Kazemi's roommate moving and asked about McNair's divorce.

"And she (Kazemi) just rolled her eyes. New said at the end of the conversation, Kazemi said, "My life is just (awful) and I should end it."

Business was slow that night when Kazemi asked if she could leave early. She clocked out at 10:07 p.m.

The summary also includes new information from the woman Kazemi followed from McNair's condo, suspicious that he was involved with someone else.

Police also say Leah Ignagni confirmed she was dating McNair and recalled seeing a woman in a black Cadillac Escalade parked outside his condo two or three weeks before his murder. Ignagni saw the woman follow her and later saw the Escalade circling her block or parked outside her apartment a week or two later. A 2007 black Escalade was co-registered both to Kazemi and McNair.

Ignagni told police McNair visited her around 4 a.m. on July 2 — a couple hours after Kazemi's arrest — to tell her "Jenni" had been arrested for DUI. McNair then spent the night of July 2 at Ignagni's apartment but left early July 3.

The report also includes details from the crime scene that blood stains showed Kazemi's upper body was in McNair's lap before sliding to the floor. Police also found the gun under Kazemi's head with an impression in the carpet the summary said indicates neither the gun nor Kazemi's body was moved before officers arrived.