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Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's Son Facing Nearly 10 Years In Prison For Stabbing Neighbor Over Trash Can Dispute
Adam Abdul-Jabbar allegedly stabbed his neighbor in the back of the head after being criticized for failing to take the trash cans inside for his elderly roommate.
The son of retired basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has been charged for allegedly stabbing a neighbor during an altercation regarding trash cans.
Adam Abdul-Jabbar, 28, has been charged with three felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon, one felony count of carrying a dirk or dagger, and three enhancements of inflicting great bodily injury, the Orange County District Attorney's Office announced Tuesday. The charges stem from an altercation that occurred on June 9, 2020 outside of Abdul-Jabbar's San Clemente, California home.
The altercation occurred after the victim, a man who shares a driveway with Abdul-Jabbar, criticized him for not bringing in the trash cans for an elderly woman with whom Abdul-Jabbar lives, the release stated. A heated argument ensued, and Abdul-Jabbar is alleged to have used a large hunting knife to stab the neighbor multiple times; the victim's wife rushed him to the hospital, where he learned that, as a result of being stabbed in the back of the head, his skull was fractured and his brain was bleeding.
The victim, identified earlier this year as Ray Winsor, told KABC days after the stabbing that he's known Abdul-Jabbar for years and that the attack stemmed from an ongoing disagreement regarding trash cans.
"I sort of got on him because the lady who takes care of him is 83-year-old, he doesn't do anything for her and it just bums me out, she's in a walker taking her trash cans down," he told the station.
Winsor said that Abdul-Jabbar then told him that he was going to put a knife through his teeth, but he initially thought that he was joking. However, after he began walking away, he thought he felt himself being punched, but he was actually getting stabbed.
Authorities responded to reports of a stabbing and took Abdul-Jabbar into custody without incident, according to KABC. He was booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and released later that day after posting bail, KTLA 5 previously reported.
Winsor told KTLA 5 that he hopes Abdul-Jabbar gets help.
“I think he’s got some serious problems,” he said. “I think he tried to kill me. I mean, it could’ve been one inch this way, one inch that way, I could’ve been dead.”
The day after the stabbing, Abdul-Jabbar apologized to the victim's wife for what happened, per KABC.
In Tuesday's release, prosecutors pledged to hold Abdul-Jabbar responsible.
“A dispute between neighbors should never escalate to violence, much less the ruthless nature of this attack,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said. “Violence of any kind will not be tolerated in Orange County and those who choose to inflict violence on others will be prosecuted by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office to the fullest extent of the law.”
Abdul-Jabbar's arraignment is scheduled for September 9, 2020 at the Harbor Justice Center, officials said this week. He faces a maximum sentence of nine years and eight months in state prison if convicted.
Abdul-Jabbar is one of five children of former pro basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. A spokesperson for the sports legend declined to comment on his son's arrest, Action News Jax reported in June.
In response to the new charges, Adam Abdul-Jabbar's lawyer Shawn Holley told NBC News that Winsor, who he referred to as the "complaining witness," was the one who "initiated the altercation and it was Mr. Abdul-Jabbar who contacted the police to report it."
"For these reasons and many more, we are disappointed that this case was filed, but stand ready to address the charges in court," Holley said.
