Tampa Bay Buccaneeers cornerback Aqib Talib is expected to be indicted for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon by a Dallas County grand jury, the St. Petersburg Times reported Thursday, citing Texas law enforcement authorities.
Police say they believe Talib and his mother, Okolo Talib, shot at Shannon Billings, the boyfriend of the player's sister. Billings wasn't injured.
Talib -- who has denied wrongdoing -- is charged with assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony that is punishable by 2 to 20 years in prison.
The March 21 incident wasn't the first brush with trouble for Talib, a first-round draft pick by the Bucs in 2008.
Talib was charged with simple battery and resisting arrest in connection with an assault on a taxi driver in Tampa in 2009. He was suspended by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for the 2010 season opener as punishment for that incident, and Talib settled out of court with the cab driver.
Talib's troubles date to 2008, when he was involved in a fight with fellow Bucs rookie Cory Boyd at the NFL Rookie Symposium. In May 2009, Talib wound up inadvertently hitting teammate Torrie Cox in the face with his helmet while fighting with Donald Penn during a minicamp workout.
The team has yet to take any disciplinary measures against Talib for the latest incident.
"We have not talked about that," Bucs coach Raheem Morris told WHBO-AM earlier this month. "That has not taken place. We will, but that time has not come yet."
Former Bucs defensive tackle Chris Hovan spoke out about Talib last month, saying he believed team management has been too lenient on his ex-teammate.
"(Talib) has been given too much leeway from Raheem Morris because, I guess, coach Morris (the Bucs' former secondary coach) has favoritism towards him because he played defensive back," said Hovan, who started all but one game for the Bucs between 2005 and 2009. "Again, they are giving this young man way too much leeway. Any other individual would have been cut way before this. But Aqib's got so much talent -- his talent goes through the ceiling. But you can't have these offseason issues and you can't keep covering for this kid because they're saying it's OK for what he is doing."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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