"It's going to take a little longer for Hornets reserve guard Rasual Butler to resolve his case stemming from an arrest on gun charges last month in Miami Beach, Fla.

Butler, 29, was scheduled to enter a plea Wednesday morning in Miami-Dade County Criminal Court during his arraignment on a felony charge of carrying a concealed weapon without a permit and a misdemeanor charge for improper exhibition of a firearm, but the hearing was reset for Aug. 4.

Neither Butler nor a lawyer representing him was present in the courtroom. The state prosecutor in attendance proposed the new date for the hearing to Judge Rosa Rodriguez.

Butler, a former Miami Heat guard who was traded to New Orleans in 2005, was arrested June 23 after witnesses told Miami Beach police a man holding a firearm had made threats. Based on the arrest report, when police arrived at the scene, Butler was seated in the back seat of a sport utility vehicle. When officers asked Butler if he had any weapons, he said, "No, but my gun is in the car."

An automatic gun that was cocked with a bullet in the chamber was found behind the seat on the floorboard. Butler told police he had a concealed weapon's permit but not in Florida.

After Butler's arrest, in which he posted $6,000 bail to be released from the Miami-Dade County jail, his case was turned over to the state attorney's office, which conducted its own investigation before filing formal charges."