Tank Johnson Will Join the Bears in Miami

The Chicago Tribune just reported tonight that Terry "Tank" Johnson, defensive lineman for the SuperBowl bound Chicago Bears, has been cleared to travel to Miami with no restrictions. Tank had been under house arrest after police raided his home in the northern suburb of Gurnee, allegedly finding a number of handguns and assault rifles, for which Tank was not licensed (there are other reports that Tank was licensed in Arizona, but not in Illinois). Cook County prosecutors found this latest offense to be in violation of his probation that he received in November 2005 for an unlawful gun possession charge.

Johnson had been under house arrest, but allowed to go to work (Lake Forest for practice; Soldier Field for games), and would need special permission to leave the state, which he just received.

In other news, Johnson has not been charged in connection with the shooting death of his bodyguard/friend Willie Posey on December 16 while Johnson was with him at the River North club, Ice Bar.

As a Bears fan, I know that Tank is an essential part of the Bears D, especially in light of the losses of Mike Brown and Tommie Harris to injuries. As a lawyer, Tank seems to have complied with the conditions of his house arrest, but I hope that justice was blind here.

My main concern is that there are "no restrictions" on Tank while in Miami. Certainly there would seem to be a case here to restrict Tank to practice and the game as he is restricted while in Chicago. Any criminal lawyers with some insight here?

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