Ben Gordon's fourth police encounter in five months results in robbery charges

Ben Rohrbach
·Senior NBA writer
Ben Gordon’s post-NBA career has taken a sad turn. (AP)
Ben Gordon’s post-NBA career has taken a sad turn. (AP)

The 2017 saga of former NBA Sixth Man of the Year Ben Gordon continues to go from sad to worse.

Gordon, 34, was arrested on felony robbery charges after allegedly punching the building manager at the Los Angeles apartment complex where he used to live and demanded his security deposit at knifepoint, according multiple reports. The incident marks his fourth run-in with police in five months.

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The No. 3 overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft, Gordon allegedly requested his security deposit, and then punched the manager when he did not hand it over, according to the New York Post. Gordon allegedly procured a portion of the deposit — “several thousand dollars,” per TMZ Sports — before leaving.

Gordon allegedly returned to the building twice seeking the remainder of his deposit — once brandishing a knife and again after the manager had alerted police. He was then promptly arrested.

The former Chicago Bulls guard was released on $50,000 bail, according to TMZ.

The incident occurred around 9 a.m. on Saturday, just a week after Gordon was charged with allegedly driving on a forged Florida license plate in Harlem on Nov. 19. He is still due in court for that charge.

A month before that, Gordon was reportedly taken to a psychiatric hospital for evaluation after locking a woman inside his sports rehab facility during an argument in his hometown of Mount Vernon, N.Y. The alleged victim and a police officer on scene reported seeing Gordon with a box cutter, although no weapon was found. He was not arrested, and that incident is still under investigation.

When he was arrested on Saturday, Gordon reportedly had an arrest warrant in his name in L.A. after failing to show in court on charges he allegedly pulled fire alarms in his apartment complex on June 1.

Gordon last played in the NBA for the Orlando Magic in 2014-15, earning an estimated $84.6 million over his 11-year playing career. He attempted a comeback with the Dallas Mavericks’ developmental league affiliate in January, finishing last season with the Texas Legends, and the Windy City Bulls acquired his rights in October. He is the only player ever to win the Sixth Man award as a rookie.

Here’s hoping Gordon finds the help he needs and we don’t see a fifth police run-in or worse soon.

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Ben Rohrbach is a contributor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!