DALLAS (AP) — Authorities have charged the 20-year-old son of former NBA player Nick Van Exel with capital murder.
Nickey Maxwell Van Exel was arrested Wednesday night and jailed on $1 million bond in the killing of Bradley Bassey Eyo. Police say the 23-year-old victim was shot Sunday at a residence in the Dallas suburb of Garland and that the body was moved to Lake Ray Hubbard.
The younger Van Exel’s attorney says his client told police he killed Eyo, a friend, when a shotgun they were playing with accidently went off and that he “panicked” and moved the body.
The elder Van Exel played for the Dallas Mavericks from 2001 to 2003 as part of an NBA career that spanned 13 seasons. He is now player development instructor for the Atlanta Hawks.
