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Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark is facing three years in prison in California after being formally charged with felony possession of an assault weapon on Friday, according to The Kansas City Star.
The charge came out of Clark’s first arrest during the 2021 offseason, when police pulled the former Michigan Wolverine over in Los Angeles on March 12, saying he failed to display a front license plate on his vehicle, per The Kansas City Star. At that time, “officers observed and recovered two loaded firearms inside the vehicle during a traffic stop” and arrested Clark and his passenger, the outlet reported. He was released the following day on a $35,000 bond, according to The Star.
Clark will be arraigned July 14 in Compton, California, on the felony charge, a spokesperson at the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office told The Kansas City Star.
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According to The Kansas City Star, authorities also detained the 28-year-old Clark on June 20 after they say they saw an Uzi inside an open duffle bag during a traffic violation stop in Los Angeles. Clark, who was in the vehicle at the time, argued the firearm was not his and rather belonged to a member of his security team, TMZ reported. He was charged with possession of a concealed firearm in a vehicle and later released on $35,000 bond, The Kansas City Star reported.
The Chiefs have yet to release a statement on his status with the team.
Does This Put His Contract With the Chiefs in Jeopardy?
Should he remain with the team this upcoming campaign, Clark will enter his seventh season in the league and his third in Kansas City. The two-time Pro Bowler agreed to a five-year, $105 million contract with $62.3 million guaranteed with the 2020 Super Bowl champions after they acquired him from the Seattle Seahawks in 2019. The Seahawks selected him in the second round (63rd overall) of the 2015 NFL draft.
In March 2020, Clark’s $18.5 million base salary for the 2021 season became guaranteed for skill, injury and cap. This also includes a $500,000 workout bonus.
If they had a reason and wanted to dodge the 2021 salary obligation, the Chiefs could release Clark and it wouldn’t have to pertain to skill, injury or cap. Chiefs personnel have not announced whether they’ll keep him or release him.
Clark Has Had Legal Trouble Since College
Clark has had other legal troubles in his adult years. In 2012, he was arrested on a felony home invasion charge. After pleading guilty to stealing a MacBook from a floormate, Clark was sentenced to one year probation and ordered to pay $1,741 in fines, according to MLive.com.
Two years later, Clark was arrested after a domestic dispute broke out between him and his then-girlfriend in an Ohio hotel room, the Detroit Free Press reported.
“We went up the room, there was a damaged lamp on the table, a damaged lamp on the wall and she’s got a large welt on the side of her cheek, she’s got marks on her neck,” officers said of the crime scene in 2014, according to the Detroit Free Press. “She had what looked like rug burn on her one thigh. We have pictures of everything.”
At the time, Clark asserted he did not do anything to her.
“I didn’t touch that woman,” he told police, according to the outlet.
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Chiefs DE Charged With Felony Possession, Faces 3 Years in Prison