THE SIDELINES : Billups Admits Gun Charges

Cincinnati Bengals defensive back Lewis Billups pleaded guilty today in court to three misdemeanor charges stemming from his January arrest for allegedly waving a handgun at two undercover Cincinnati police officers.

Billups, 25, pleaded guilty in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court to improper transportation of a firearm and two counts of aggravated menacing, all first-degree misdemeanors. Judge Ralph Winkler released Billups on bond and scheduled sentencing for July 31, the week when Bengals players are supposed to report to the team’s preseason training camp in Wilmington, Ohio.

Billups faces maximum penalties of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine on each of the three charges. In return for his guilty pleas today, Hamilton County prosecutors dropped a felony charge of carrying a concealed weapon.

Billups was arrested Jan. 4 in suburban northern Kentucky after he allegedly pointed the gun at two undercover police officers in downtown Cincinnati. The officers testified that Billups drove off and they chased him across an Ohio River bridge into Kentucky at speeds of up to 85 m.p.h. before Ft. Wright, Ky., police stopped him.

Billups was charged in Kentucky with a misdemeanor offense of carrying a concealed weapon. On Feb. 14, Kenton County District Judge William Schmaedecke agreed to allow Billups to perform 40 hours of community service work rather than stand trial on the charge.