A bizarre case regarding alleged robberies and allegedly extreme efforts to recover stolen property has not yet resulted in charges being pursued against Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold. Arnold nevertheless continues to linger on the fringes of the case.
Via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, Arnold was mentioned “multiple times” in text messages generated in connection with a kidnapping, armed robbery, and assault case that has resulted in, to date, felony charges against six different people. The text messages were obtained by the Free Press via a Freedom of Information Act request.
Arnold was not a recipient of any of the text messages.
The alleged thefts that sparked the case happened at an Airbnb that Arnold had rented in Largo, Florida. Arnold himself filed the original police report that high-end bags, guns, jewelry, a cellphone, and $100,000 in cash had been stolen.
Boakai Hilton was the alleged mastermind; the presiding judge wrote in a prior order that an ensuing retrieval of the property through allegedly illegal means resulted directly from “Arnold and his friends” deciding to “take matters into their own hands.”
Attorney Tim Jansen downplayed the references to Arnold.
“His expectations are he’s not going to be charged,” Jansen told Birkett. “He hasn’t been charged and I haven’t seen these text message[s] but they obviously have them and they haven’t charged [him]. The fact that he knows some of these people is hardly evidence he committed a crime and we believe he’s not going to be charged.”
Jansen issued a separate statement to Birkett: “We have not yet been provided with the text messages in question, and it would be inappropriate to comment on isolated excerpts without first reviewing them in their full context. We are aware that law enforcement has conducted an extensive investigation, as reflected in the 49-page criminal information. Notably, our client has not been charged, and based on the evidence currently known, we do not anticipate that any charges will be brought against him. Any suggestion of involvement appears to rest solely on the fact that our client is acquainted with certain individuals connected to this matter. Mere association does not constitute participation in criminal activity. Importantly, there is no evidence, nor any witness testimony, indicating that our client has had any involvement.”
The fact that Arnold hasn’t been charged doesn’t mean he won’t be. Prosecutors may attempt to persuade one or more of the existing defendants to flip on Arnold, if there’s any reason to believe he ordered or instigated the effort to recover the property that had been stolen from the property he had rented.
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