Former player Crittenton sought on murder charge

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Javaris Crittenton, a former National Basketball Association athlete who once played for the Los Angeles Lakers and the Washington Wizards, is wanted on a murder charge over the death of a woman in Georgia, the FBI said Monday.

Crittenton, who is believed to be in Los Angeles, is being sought for the August 19 shooting death of 22-year-old Julian Jones in Atlanta.

Witnesses said Jones was shot with an assault rifle by someone driving a dark-colored SUV, the FBI said in a statement.

Several days after the woman was shot, Crittenton, 23, of Fayetteville, Georgia, purchased a one-way airline ticket from Atlanta to Los Angeles, where he has friends and family, the FBI said.

Crittenton has been charged by Atlanta police with murder, and Monday the FBI issued an arrest warrant for him for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

Crittenton was drafted by the Lakers in 2007 and ended his career with the Wizards after a stint in Memphis, according to the league website. He played college ball at Georgia Tech in Atlanta.

In January 2010, the NBA suspended Crittenton and Wizards teammate Gilbert Arenas without pay for the rest of the season for bringing guns into the locker room after a dispute over a poker game on a flight home from a game.

Crittenton pleaded guilty to a criminal charge and received a sentence of one year of probation over that incident.

(Reporting by David Beasley; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Cynthia Johnston)