Mayweather Associate Takes Plea Deal in Shooting Case

An associate of boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. took a plea deal Friday that could get him 18 years in prison for shooting at two men in a car after one of the men argued with Mayweather at a Las Vegas skating center in August of 2009, according to the Las Vegas Sun. Authorities say seven shots were fired and six hit the car, but neither man in the BMW sedan was wounded.

According to police, Mayweather argued with Williams on the night of the shooting inside the Crystal Palace Skating Center. Police say the Aug. 23, 2009, incident started over a text message Williams sent Mayweather saying he hoped the boxer would lose his upcoming fight with Juan Manuel Marquez.

Ocie Harris, 29, of Chicago, pleaded an equivalent of no contest in Nevada state court to two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of firing a weapon into a vehicle. Each charge carries a possible sentence of one to six years in prison.

When questioned by police, Mayweather denied knowing Harris or having any knowledge of a shooting. But police said they linked the boxer and Harris through witnesses, surveillance videotapes and records seized when authorities served search warrants at Mayweather's home.

Prosecutor Samuel Bateman noted that Harris’ plea is a conviction on three felonies. He said he planned to make Mayweather’s presence at the shooting scene, and his encounter with one of the men in the car, part of the court record during Harris’ sentencing scheduled for August 23.

“The facts are plain that Mr. Harris and Mr. Mayweather are associates and friends,” Bateman said outside court. “It doesn’t appear to me there was any other motive” for the shooting.