Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark finally has a court date set for the gun charges stemming from his June arrest in California. As the resident lawyer here at Arrowhead Addict, it falls on me to break down what these latest reports mean.
K.C. Chiefs star Frank Clark has been hit with another gun charge ... this stemming from his June arrest. https://t.co/5cKfAylzT1
— TMZ (@TMZ) October 23, 2021
Back in June, Clark was pulled over during a routine traffic stop. During that stop, officers observed a firearm in the vehicle, and Clark was arrested and booked for illegal possession. He has now formally been charged with possession of an assault rifle. Because of that, Clark has an official court date in California set for January 17, 2022.
At that court date, Clark will plead guilty or not guilty to the charges. The parties may discuss discovery (document exchange) and a possible trial date should the charges proceed to trial.
Frank Clark formally received charges stemming from his June arrest for illegal possession of a firearm
Clark is still facing charges stemming from a similar incident in March. Both court dates are likely to be moved to the offseason. Generally, courts are willing to move dates to accommodate schedules of defendants. In this case, the courts are probably willing to accommodate Clark’s “work schedule.”
While January 17 is after the regular season is over, Chiefs fans certainly hope that the regular season is not where this Chiefs season ends. Regardless, much like I previously wrote, Clark is unlikely to face an NFL suspension this season (if he ever does).
Clark has not produced this season as we had hoped, but he is now back in the lineup for the second straight week. We hope he is able to produce something to stop Derrick Henry. because at this point, a cut in the offseason seems likely given his lack of production and his off the field issues.
We will continue to monitor the situation to see if Clark and the prosecutors reach some sort of plea agreement in the meantime, but I doubt we hear anything more until we get closer to that court date. We also hope that Clark’s off field issues do not become a distraction as we head into the heart of the 2021 season.