Texas police have issued felony warrants for the arrests of Bucs’ cornerback Aqib Talib and his mother, Okolo “Momma Be Packin’ Heat” Talib. (I’m kidding – that’s not her real nickname. I actually don’t know what her real nickname is. Probably “O” or something.)

According to the St. Petersburg Times, Talib could face five to 20 years in prison after he turns himself in for the second-degree felony charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Talib’s mother was also charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and surrendered to police on Tuesday. The warrants stem from an incident that occurred on March 21 in which Talib allegedly opened fire on his sister’s boyfriend outside her home in Texas.

As I wrote yesterday when this news first broke, it sounds like Talib was trying to defend his family. He and his mother do have the right to bear arms (assuming the weapons were registered, of course) and if he felt that his life or the lives of those around him were in danger then maybe he should have fired the gun. Who knows? I wasn’t there and therefore can’t pass judgment.

That said, Talib is fortunate that he didn’t kill an innocent bystander by firing the weapon while trying to hit his sister’s boyfriend. He may wind up going to jail a la Michael Vick and Plaxico Burress because he didn’t think before he reacted. (Again though, I wasn’t there so I’m just basing everything off the published reports.)

We’ll see how everything plays out but this kid is in some serious trouble. Whether or not he broke any laws and will face punishment in court is uncertain at this point. But the NFL will monitor the situation and if he is charged, Talib can expect a suspension.

According to a report by the Dallas Observer, Buccaneers’ cornerback Aqib Talib has lawyered up after an incident occurred on March 21 involving his sister Saran, his mother Okolo, his sister’s classy boyfriend Shannon Billings, two guns and at least five shots fired. Details are below.

According to the report and the sources, at 7:30 p.m. on March 21 Aqib Muttaqi Talib went to his sister’s home in the 900 block of Green Pond Drive in Garland (south of Bush Turnpike not far from Spring Creek Elementary and Hawaiian Falls Water Park). Saran, who was arguing with Billings, also called her mother for help. Police were directed to Saran’s home via a 911 call by neighbors, who reported a domestic dispute and three shots fired at a black male by a black female. According to the report, police arrived to find Billings standing in front of a nearby residence. While interviewing him, officers discovered Billings was a suspect in two pending, related, family-violence offenses involving Saran and arrested him.

When initially questioned, both Saran and Okolo Talib said they knew nothing of an earlier incident at the house. Billings, however, led police to a gun he said belonged to Aqib that Billings had thrown in a neighbor’s trash can after escaping his struggle with the player. After finding the weapon and calling forensic investigators to retrieve numerous spent shell casings in the street, officers took a statement from Billings.

According to the report, Billings said Aqib produced a handgun and “attempted to strike him in the face.” During the ensuing skirmish Talib dropped the gun and Billings picked it up and began runnning, prompting Okolo to produce a gun and fire three shots toward him. Billings told police that Talib then took Okolo’s gun, said “I’ll shoot him” and fired at least two shots before Billings safely ducked into nearby woods. Neighborhood witnesses corroborated Billings’ story.

It sounds like Talib was trying to defend his sister from her violent boyfriend, which is admirable. But if the above report is accurate, there didn’t seem to be the need for Talib to open fire on Billings (who was fleeing the scene). I get the idea of trying to protect your family but you still have to use your head. Pending an investigation, he could now be arrested and charged with anything from discharging a firearm within a municipality (class A misdemeanor) to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon (second-degree felony). Furthermore, what if an innocent bystander got hit by one of Talib’s bullets? Obviously he doesn’t have the best aim, so he could have killed someone other than Billings. If he’s going to fire a gun (or his mother’s gun for that matter), he needs to be more responsible.

But hey, I wasn’t there. I’m just going off of what the report says. Maybe Talib felt provoked and fired the gun because he believed everyone’s life was in danger. Maybe he didn’t even fire the gun and Billings is lying. Talib does have the right to bear arms in this country and until more details come out, we (I) shouldn’t pass judgment.

That said, this isn’t the first time Talib has gotten into trouble since being drafted in 2008, so he’s forfeited the right to receive the benefit of the doubt in this situation. If he is charged with a crime, the NFL will surely suspend him, which will be yet another hit to his promising career. According to the Observer, he and his mother aren’t cooperating with investigators so things don’t presently look good for the corner (even if he is only a person of interest).

In the course of two days, the Buccaneers’ secondary has taken a significant hit after free safety Tanard Jackson was suspended four games for violating the league’s substance abuse policy and cornerback Aqib Talib was arrested for simple battery and resisting arrest.

Jackson, who was entering his third season, has emerged as one of Tampa’s better young defenders. He started all 32 games for the Bucs over the past two seasons and made defensive calls for the team in the secondary. Given that Will Allen is his replacement, this is a significant blow to the Bucs’ defensive backfield.

Talib showed promise as a rookie last year and was likely going to be promoted to starter this season. But his starting status is now very much in question following his arrest, not to mention he was also punished for striking teammate Torrie Cox in the face with his helmet at the conclusion of a recent practice.

The Bucs lost one of the better defensive minds in football when long-time coordinator Monte Kiffin left the team to coach with his son at the University of Tennessee. Now they have to deal with the loss of Jackson for four games and concern themselves with disciplining Talib.

This isn’t a good sign for a team that is trying to adjust to a new head coach and a new defensive coordinator.