Former NFL star Antonio Brown was released from a Miami-Dade jail on Thursday, a day after he was granted bond on an attempted murder charge in connection with a May shooting.
“God is great,” Brown told reporters as he left the jail after a Miami-Dade judge granted him a $25,000 bond along with house arrest with a GPS monitor at a hearing on Wednesday.
Miami-Dade Corrections
Miami-Dade Corrections
Antonio Brown.
Prosecutors had sought pretrial detention, contending Brown is a high-paid former professional athlete with the resources to flee.
The 37-year-old grabbed a snack from a food truck outside the jail but didn’t comment further before leaving.
Brown has pleaded not guilty to the second-degree attempted murder charge, which carries a potential 15-year prison sentence and a fine up to $10,000 if he is convicted.
According to an arrest warrant, Brown is accused of grabbing a handgun from a security staffer after a celebrity boxing match in Miami on May 16 and firing two shots at a man he had gotten into a fistfight with earlier. The victim, Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu, told investigators that one of the bullets grazed his neck.
Brown’s attorney, Mark Eiglarsh, said Wednesday that the affidavit is mistaken and that Brown actually used his personal firearm, and that the shots were not aimed at anyone.
In video posted on Only in Dade, Brown was seen an altercation with several individuals. At one point, he was seen running and a gunshot was heard.
“It was my client’s own gun,” Eiglarsh said.
Based on his social media posts, Brown had been living in Dubai for several months. In a social media post after the altercation, Brown said he was defending himself because he was “jumped by multiple individuals who tried to steal my jewelry and cause physical harm to me.”
Eiglarsh said Brown has unspecified business interests in Dubai and always intended to turn himself in on the attempted murder charge.
“He didn’t flee to Dubai,” the lawyer said. “He always had a desire and intention to answer this case.”
Brown, who spent 12 years in the NFL, was an All-Pro wide receiver who last played in 2021 for Tampa Bay but spent most of his career with Pittsburgh. For his career, Brown had 928 receptions for more than 12,000 yards and accounted for 88 total touchdowns counting punt returns and one pass.
RAW: Video shows former NFL star Antonio Brown leaving a Miami-Dade jail after posting bond in an attempted murder case.