Updated

Atlanta, GA (SportsNetwork.com) - Former NBA guard Javaris Crittenton has accepted a plea deal for the 2011 murder of Julian Jones and will serve a 23- year prison sentence.

After jury selection was completed on Tuesday, Crittenton, now 27, pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter and aggravated assault on the day opening statements were set to begin. In court, he apologized to Jones' family for what he called a "horrible accident."

On August 19, 2011, Jones, a 22-year-old mother, was killed in a drive-by shooting. Prosecutors stated that the intended victim was a man Crittenton believed was responsible for robbing him, but he said his intention was just to scare the man and not kill anyone.

Crittenton was indicted by a grand jury in 2013 and turned himself in to police on April 2.

While out on bond, Crittenton was arrested again in Jan. 2014 in a drug sting. Along with others, he was accused of participating in a drug-trafficking ring that sold large quantities of cocaine and marijuana.

After one year at Georgia Tech, Crittenton was drafted by the Lakers with the 19th pick in the 2007 NBA Draft. On Feb. 1, 2008, he was traded to the Grizzlies and then sent to the Wizards on Dec. 10, 2008.

While with Washington, Crittenton gained notoriety for an armed confrontation in the club's locker room with teammate Gilbert Arenas. He was given one year of probation for the misdemeanor charge and suspended for the rest of the season by commissioner David Stern. He was released by the Wizards and never played another minute in the NBA.

Crittenton's cousin, Douglas Gamble, was present for the shooting and pled guilty to aggravated assault. He will serve three years in prison, and both men will face 17 months of probation after their prison sentences are completed.