Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold is denying any involvement in an alleged robbery and kidnapping case in Florida.
“He did not participate in, nor was he present for, any conduct related to the alleged offenses,” Arnold’s lawyer, Timothy Jansen, claimed in a statement to TMZ Sports on Friday, February 27. “There is no evidence in police reports, text messages, or witness statements that implicates Mr. Arnold in any way.”
Arnold, 22, was mentioned in a Tuesday, February 24, court order obtained by Us Weekly, which granted the state of Florida’s motion to hold his friend, Boakai Eugene Hilton, without bond.
Hilton, 23, is charged with three counts of kidnapping to harm or terrorize and three counts of robbery with a firearm. Each count carries a potential life sentence if convicted. He has pleaded not guilty.
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WVTV Fox 13 Tampa Bay originally reported on Arnold’s alleged involvement in the case.
Jansen reportedly spoke with the lead prosecutor on the case, who confirmed “that no charges have been filed against Mr. Arnold in connection with this matter.”
“Recent media coverage has referenced an Order issued by Circuit Judge J. Logan Murphy, which improperly suggests Mr. Arnold’s involvement in the incident,” Jansen continued in his statement. “That same order also incorrectly identifies Ms. [Arianna] Devalle as Mr. Arnold’s girlfriend. Both assertions are false, misleading, and entirely unsupported by the record.”
The case stems from an alleged scheme of “vigilante justice” after Hilton allegedly attacked Arnold’s private driver Yan Lopez, as well as Lopez’s friends Daniel Tenesaca and Soljah Anderson, who he believed burglarized an AirBnb that Arnold rented in Florida.
Arnold claims $100,000 in cash, an $80,000 necklace, designer bags and an NFL-issued cellphone were all stolen.
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“Arnold and his friends decided to take matters into their own hands,” Murphy wrote in the court order. “Rather than allowing law enforcement to investigate and retrieve the stolen property, the co-defendants sought vigilante justice by kidnapping the victims for over an hour, interrogating them, beating them, and threatening them with a gun barrel in the mouth.”
In addition to Hilton, Lyndell Hudson and Christion Williams were also arrested in connection with the incident and have pleaded not guilty to all charges. Hudson, 25, and Williams, 24, are the individuals accused of confronting the alleged victims with a rifle and handgun.
“One of the co-defendants stuck the barrel of his firearm into Lopez’s mouth, demanding he return the stolen property and Arnold’s phone,” Murphy wrote. “Before the victims left, the co-defendants took their phones and wallets. This was all done ostensibly to get [the three individuals] to admit that they stole the property from the AirBNB, which they never do. Indeed, there is no evidence that any of the victims are involved in the theft.”
Murphy continued, “Given the consistent accounts from the three victims and the two text message chains introduced into evidence, the weight of the evidence against Hilton is overwhelming. Because the evidence shows that he knows the victims and that others who have not been arrested were likely involved in the plot, the risk of harm and intimidation to the victims and any witnesses is high, and I find there is a significant probability that they would encounter harm if Hilton is granted pretrial release.”
