Bears' lineman Tank Johnson pleads not guilty to gun charges

WAUKEGAN, Ill. -- Chicago Bears defensive tackle Tank Johnson pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor weapons charges Tuesday after a police raid on his home last month.\nJohnson, dressed in a suit and tie, did not speak during the Lake County court hearing before Judge Theodore Potkonjak. Defense attorney Thomas Briscoe entered the plea for him. His next court date in Lake County is set for Feb. 16.\nJohnson was arrested Dec. 14 after police raided his Gurnee home. It was his third arrest in 18 months.\nHe faces 10 counts of possession of firearms without the required state gun-owner identification card; prosecutors say six weapons were in the home and the other counts relate to ammunition found there.\nLess than 48 hours after his arrest, Johnson was at a Chicago bar when his friend and bodyguard, Willie B. Posey, was shot and killed. Posey also had been arrested on drug possession charges when police raided Johnson's home.\nThe Bears suspended Johnson for one game for being at the club.\nBriscoe, speaking outside court, said Johnson is doing well under the circumstances and is trying to focus on his job with the Bears.\n"We're confident we have a defense to this," Briscoe said. "The facts will show he's done nothing wrong."\nLake County assistant state's attorney Mary Stanton said prosecutors believe in the strength of the evidence.\n"One of the loaded rifles was found in (Johnson's) own bedroom," she said.\nIf found guilty on the Lake County gun charges, Johnson faces a maximum sentence of one year in jail.\nDuring the hearing, Potkonjak joked that he is a Green Bay Packers fan. The judge granted a defense request to allow Johnson to travel freely outside the state.\nBut authorities in Cook County have alleged that Johnson's arrest violated his earlier probation terms on a 2005 gun charge.\nA Cook County judge has ordered Johnson to stay at home except to go to work, and he needs permission to leave Illinois. The next hearing in that probation-violation case is scheduled for Jan. 23.\nAlso Tuesday, the (Arlington Heights) Daily Herald reported that Gurnee police visited Johnson's house at least 30 times in the last two years -- with some calls coming from neighbors and other from inside the home.\nThe newspaper, citing police documents, said the reasons included animal-related complaints, a domestic dispute and reports of gunshots being fired in the backyard.\nJohnson's defense attorney said the police visits were a result of Johnson's celebrity status.\n"With any celebrity, people get called to their homes," Briscoe said. "There was nothing involving him that would require his arrest"