New York Giants cornerback DeAndre Baker and Seattle Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar turned themselves in to the Broward County Jail on Saturday to satisfy arrest warrants in connection to an alleged robbery in Miramar, Florida, last week.
Broward County Judge Michael Davis ruled Sunday that Dunbar be granted a $100,000 bond — $25,000 for each of the four armed robbery charges. Baker was granted a $200,000 bond — $25,000 each for four counts of armed robbery with a firearm and four counts of aggravated assault with a firearm.
They will be forced to relinquish their firearms and have no contact with the victims or guns. Both will be released Sunday if they post bond, as expected.
The state had asked for no bond for both men.
More details of the case were revealed in the court appearance, including that the alleged robbery occurred during an illegal dice gambling game at a Miramar house with 15 to 20 occupants in attendance. Prosecutors said they haven’t identified the man in the red mask who the state claims was getting orders by Dunbar or Baker to shoot at someone. There were no shots fired.
Dunbar’s lawyer, Michael Grieco, showed the judge five sworn affidavits that both sides confirmed came from the same parties (four victims and one witness) that the detectives spoke with. The prosecutor found it “suspect” that the witnesses recanted within 36 hours and that their affidavits were related directly to Dunbar.
Baker’s attorney, Bradford Cohen, maintains that he has more affidavits, some that haven’t been presented to the state, for “a little strategic defense issue” in the event this case goes forward. A piece of the affidavit he did present from Dominick Johnson, a friend of both parties, was presented by the state.
“At some point there was an argument that arose between some of the parties that were playing the dice game,” it read. “I was never in fear for my life in any situation that happened that day and DeAndre Baker did not take any property from me and did not point a gun at anyone.”
It was mentioned throughout the proceedings that Baker and Dunbar have no prior criminal history.
Despite both attorneys saying they have affidavits clearing their clients, the Miramar Police Department insisted they both turn themselves in and welcomed witnesses to add or change anything to their statement if they wished to do so. As of Saturday morning, police said none of the victims or witnesses had recanted their stories to them.
“We believe our client is innocent of all charges,” Cohen said. “We urge people not to rush to judgment. We have affidavits from several witnesses that exonerate my client.”
Cohen confirmed that Baker turned himself in Saturday morning in an Instagram post, writing that he is a “believer in the system.”
Baker and Dunbar were wanted by police over an alleged incident that took place late Wednesday night at a party. According to the arrest warrant, Baker and Dunbar are accused of stealing money and watches with force while armed with semiautomatic firearms. It states that Baker intentionally threatened victims with a firearm.
NFL teams can begin reopening their facilities next week, although coaches and non-rehabbing players still will not be permitted, according to a memo obtained by ESPN on Friday.
In the memo sent to the 32 NFL teams, commissioner Roger Goodell wrote that clubs could begin using their facilities starting Tuesday, provided they meet a preestablished set of protocols and have permission under state and local regulations. Teams that are not ready or permitted to open by then can do so as soon as they meet the necessary criteria.
The first group of employees allowed back into facilities would include no more than 50% of non-player staff, up to a total of 75 per day. The only players permitted to return would be those who were already rehabilitating injuries prior to the facility closures, and no members of the coaching staff are allowed in the facility. Strength and conditioning coaches participating in player rehab may continue that work in the facility but otherwise are barred until the rest of the coaching staff is allowed to return.
Former Los Angeles Rams great Eric Dickerson ripped the team’s new uniforms on Wednesday during a radio interview with AM 570 LA Sports.
Dickerson, who set the NFL single-season rushing record with 2,105 yards in 1984 for the Rams, had previously criticized the logo. Now he took aim at the uniforms.
Among his comments, he said the horns on the helmet look like “two bananas” and that the changes make the team look “soft.”
“This is football. This ain’t nothing to do with surfing. This ain’t nothing to do with waves. This is football. This is a man’s sport,” Dickerson said in the interview. “And to me, it just looks soft. It don’t look like football. It don’t look hard.”
Dickerson, who is currently the Rams’ vice president of business development, also said the team should have gotten input from the players before making the changes. Dickerson said he talked to
Defensive end Taco Charlton promised the Kansas City Chiefs would get the best version of him, something that perhaps the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins didn’t get in his previous NFL stops.
“I guess you could say that,” Charlton said, when asked whether his recent signing with the Chiefs could be his last chance to resurrect a career that began as first-round pick with the Cowboys in 2017.
“My foot is on the gas for this one. I’m not saying I gave my full effort everywhere I’ve been. All [previous] situations, things came to an end and it was kind of mutual. It wasn’t really much of a surprise. … I was feeling kind of out of position a little bit in the past. This year, I feel like I’ll be comfortable and use my talents to the best of my ability.”
Charlton lasted just two seasons with Dallas, where he had four sacks in 27 games. He had five sacks in his 10 games with Miami last season, but the Dolphins recently waived him.
1 Related
The Chiefs have some depth at defensive end with starters Frank Clark and Alex Okafor and former second-round draft picks Tanoh Kpassagnon and Breeland Speaks in reserve. The Chiefs also selected Mike Danna in the fifth round of this year’s NFL draft.
Clark and Charlton were college teammates at Michigan.
“It was a place I was looking forward to coming,” Charlton said of Kansas City. “Once I cleared [waivers], Frank was on the phone and we were talking. Nothing else really mattered. Money-wise, nothing really mattered. I just wanted to play football and wanted to go to a good situation where I could play some good football and add myself to a good defense.
“It was just everything about the organization, from hearing how great of a coach Coach [Andy] Reid is, and then once I talked to Frank, he told me how great of a coach [defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo] is, how great a person he is and how I’d like to play for him. That’s all I really needed to hear. Once I got a chance myself to talk to him and talk to [defensive line coach Brendan] Daly, I was more comfortable with coming here. I’m excited to see what I can bring here to Kansas City.”