Residents react to Hunter Biden's plea deal: "I'm shocked"
WILMINGTON, Del. (CBS) -- President Joe Biden's son, Hunter, has agreed to a plea deal. It wraps up a federal investigation that started five years ago.
Hunter Biden will plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges. He will also admit to illegally possessing a gun while being a drug user. That does not amount to a guilty plea.
Hunter Biden will have to appear before a judge to enter the plea deal and the prosecutor is the U.S. attorney in Delaware, a holdover from the former President Donald Trump's administration.
The U.S. attorney is expected to recommend probation for Hunter Biden, not jail time.
Outside the federal court in Wilmington, some network news crews are already camping out with word Hunter Biden will soon make his first federal court appearance.
Residents in Wilmington said they were surprised to hear about the Hunter Biden news.
"I'm shocked actually," Gus Kuratle said. "I thought it would be swept under the rug."
Other opinions were strong on the legal jeopardy now confronting the president's son.
"They need to lock his behind up," Durrelle Petty said.
"They want to lock up Trump don't they? Well lock him up, too," he added.
Hunter Biden was born and raised in the Wilmington area. He attended the exclusive Archmere Academy, where his father is also a graduate.
Most people out for lunch in Wilmington wondered about the buzzing news crews parked in front of the federal courthouse. In this town -- the Biden name is admired.
The train station then-Sen. Joe Biden regularly used to travel to Washington bares his name. From his early years in Washington D.C., Hunter Biden was seen often in his father's orbit -- not far away from the political theatre.
The elder Biden came into office after tragedy struck the family -- this iconic photo shows a now-single dad after his wife and daughter were killed in a car crash. Hunter and his brother Beau were hurt.
While perhaps more notorious in recent years for laptop investigations and probes of his foreign business interests, Hunter Biden's charges speak to tax crimes and an alleged firearms violation.
Some thought the guilty plea development had little if any reflection on the president.
"It should be just about his son," Warren Smith said. "And he should be treated just like everyone else. Whether his dad is president or not. You do the crime, you have to face the consequences."
An attorney for Hunter Biden said he believed the plea agreement signaled an end to a lengthy investigation.