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Sebastian Telfair's Sister Arrested for Allegedly Threatening Witness Over Trial Testimony

Sebastian Telfair was convicted on gun charges in April 2019

What to Know

  • The sister of former NBA player and Brooklyn standout Sebastian Telfair was arrested by the FBI Monday morning
  • Octavia Telfair allegedly threatened a witness who testified against Sebastian Telfair at a recent criminal trial
  • Sebastian Telfair was convicted on firearms charges in April 2019

The sister of NBA veteran and Coney Island basketball standout Sebastian Telfair was arrested for allegedly threatening someone who testified against him in a recent criminal trial, as well as that witness's children.

Law enforcement sources tell News 4 that Octavia Telfair was arrested by FBI agents Monday morning in Brooklyn on federal charges of making interstate threatening communications.

The threats were allegedly directed at an individual who testified against her brother during his recent trial for illegally possessing weapons, sources said. The sources did not identify the target of the alleged threats, though there have been multiple media reports that Sebastian Telfair's ex-wife claimed to have been threatened after testifying. 

According to a federal complaint, Octavia Telfair called the witness dozens of times following her brother's conviction, threatening to kill her. In at least one instance, she also said the witness's children could die too -- and then allegedly called one of the children and asked where he was. 

Octavia Telfair, 32, will appear in Brooklyn federal court later today.

Sebastian Telfair was convicted last month of gun charges after a June 2017 arrest, when cops found him in an illegally parked pickup, carrying guns, ammunition and marijuana. 

Telfair, a Brooklyn native, was a standout high school player at Abraham Lincoln High School and bypassed college to become a first-round draft pick in 2004. He played for the Portland Trail Blazers and many other teams before finishing his career in China in 2014.

He is a cousin of former Knicks star Stephon Marbury.

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