PHOENIX -- Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Michael Pittman was indicted June 12 on two counts of aggravated assault for allegedly ramming his Hummer into a car carrying his wife and a babysitter.

	Pittman

Pittman will be arraigned Thursday on two counts of aggravated assault, said Bill FitzGerald, a spokesman for the Maricopa County Attorney's Office. His lawyer is expected to enter not-guilty pleas on the aggravated assault charges

If convicted, Pittman's career could be in jeopardy. A conviction in the state of Arizona calls for a mandatory sentence of at least five years for each guilty count.

The Maricopa County grand jury indictment, which was handed up Monday but not released until Thursday, says Pittman intentionally put his wife, Melissa, and 18-year-old Kristina Hegland in a situation where they could have been injured.

Attempts by The Associated Press to reach Pittman's attorney were unsuccessful.

Pittman had released a statement last week apologizing for his arrest and saying he looked forward "to being able to tell my side of the story."

Pittman participated in the Bucs' organized workouts last week, and in most cases, he would likely continue playing and practicing until his legal situation is resolved.

But Maricopa County (Ariz.) prosecutors may seek to have Pittman's probation revoked and have him placed in jail. The veteran was on probation because of his two domestic violence incidents in 2001, criminal trespass and criminal damage, for which he was convicted and suspended for one game.

Robert Hubbard, the prosecutor for the city of Tempe, will argue next Wednesday that Pittman has not been a "law-abiding citizen," one of the terms of his probation. If the judge in that hearing believes this to be true, a mini-trial will be held within a few weeks and Pittman could be sentenced to jail time for violating his probation.

Authorities say the May 31 ramming incident in the Phoenix area occurred during an argument Pittman was having with his wife about taking his 2-year-old son to training camp.

No one was hurt, but the force of the crash pushed Mrs. Pittman's car over a median and tore one of the tires from its rim, authorities said. Pittman's son was also in the car at the time.

No matter the outcome of the two cases, Pittman faces scrutiny by the NFL according to the terms of its personal conduct policy. Pittman was suspended for the opener of the 2001 season because of the incidents earlier that year and there could be even stiffer sanctions this time around.

Pittman, who signed a five-year, $8.75 million contract with the Bucs on March 26, 2002, has continued to practice with the team the past two weeks and the Bucs and the NFL likely will wait until his cases are resolved before determining how to proceed.

Pittman had played for the Arizona Cardinals before joining the Buccaneers.

Pittman started 15 of the 16 games in which he appeared last season, rushing for 718 yards and one touchdown on 204 carries. While his performance was disappointing at times, he led a strong rushing attack -- 124 yards on 29 carries -- in Tampa Bay's Super Bowl victory over the Oakland Raiders. The loss of Pittman certainly would hurt the effectiveness of a Bucs running game that statistically ranked 27th in the league last season.

ESPN.com staff writer Len Pasquarelli contributed to this report.