By Kory Woods, Tribune News Service<\/p>\n
On Monday, a Hillsborough County judge found probable cause in the case but allowed Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold, 23, to post bond.<\/p>\n
Arnold is facing eight felony charges\u2014four for kidnapping and four for armed robbery, including conspiracy charges\u2014all connected to a February incident in Tampa. If convicted, he could spend life in prison. Tampa police have named Arnold as the main conspirator, according to the state attorney\u2019s office.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Arnold, because you\u2019ve been arrested on six dangerous crimes under section 907.0415A, first-degree felonies categorized as dangerous crimes and punishable by life in prison, you are going to be held at no bond on those charges until we can have a hearing on the state\u2019s motion for pre-trial detention,\u201d Judge J. Logan Murphy announced at Thursday\u2019s arraignment.<\/p>\n
On Monday, Chief Judge Christopher C. Sabella denied the state\u2019s request to keep Arnold in jail before his trial. Instead, he set Arnold\u2019s total bond at $1 million, assigning $150,000 for each kidnapping charge and $100,000 for each robbery charge.<\/p>\n
Judge Sabella said Arnold never went into the apartment where the alleged assault took place. He also noted that nothing on Arnold\u2019s phone or social media directly connects him to the violence. Sabella added that the case depends on co-defendants who are facing life sentences, and he cannot personally assess their credibility.<\/p>\n
Sabella also rejected the prosecution\u2019s request for a GPS ankle monitor, reasoning it would prevent Arnold from playing in the NFL, and noted that Arnold\u2019s public profile serves as its own form of monitoring.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he shows up on a beach in Tahiti, he\u2019ll be on social media,\u201d Sabella said. \u201cIf he violates the conditions of his bond, he will be found because they will find you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Conditions of Arnold\u2019s bond include no contact with witnesses or co-defendants, surrender of his passport within 48 hours, and confinement to his residence except for Lions-related activities, legal appointments, and court appearances.<\/p>\n
Arnold is accused of planning the kidnapping and questioning of three men suspected of stealing more than $250,000 in personal property from six people, including himself. One of the alleged victims was Arnold\u2019s driver, Yan Lopez. The other two were Lopez\u2019s associates, Danny Tanisaka and Solja Anderson.<\/p>\n
On Monday, Tampa Police Detective Scott Barnett testified that Arnold first identified Lopez and Tanisaka as suspects in the theft. Barnett said Arnold suggested bringing them to a location for questioning and told co-defendant Arianna Del Valle to ask Jasmine Randazzo to set up the meeting. Barnett also said Randazzo told investigators she heard Arnold\u2019s voice on FaceTime, giving her instructions on how to lure Tanisaka to the apartment.<\/p>\n
Text messages presented as evidence showed Del Valle telling Randazzo, \u201cdon\u2019t be suspicious though,\u201d as they coordinated the plan. At one point, Randazzo replied, \u201cThat\u2019s pretty obvious, this is a setup.\u201d<\/p>\n
Police say that after entering the apartment, Lopez and the two others were attacked and held at gunpoint. Testimony showed the victims were beaten, pistol-whipped, and one had a gun put in his mouth for nearly an hour. Investigators found the incident was streamed on FaceTime to people who were not present, and a group chat was used to give instructions during the assault. Arnold arrived later as the three men were being forced out by the armed suspects.<\/p>\n
On Monday, the prosecutor argued that Arnold planned the entire scheme, even though co-defendant Boakai Hilton was responsible for the violence inside the apartment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t get off the ground without him at all,\u201d the prosecutor said.<\/p>\n
Defense attorney Harvey Steinberg disagreed, saying there is no evidence that Arnold directed or knew about any violence. He noted that no texts from Arnold\u2019s phone were shown as evidence, Arnold never entered the apartment, and no witness heard Arnold tell anyone to harm the victims.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt most, if you believe what they\u2019ve shown, all they can prove is that Mr. Arnold was suspicious, and the evidence suggests he had a reason to be and wanted to confront them,\u201d Steinberg said. \u201cThat\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arnold\u2019s publicist, Denise White of EAG Sports Management, released a statement denying his involvement after he turned himself in to police last Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cTerrion Arnold categorically denies any involvement in the matters underlying the allegations made against him and maintains his innocence,\u201d White wrote. \u201cThere is no credible evidence linking Mr. Arnold to these allegations. Instead, the government appears to be relying on testimony from multiple convicted felons who have admitted their own involvement and may have substantial incentives to shift blame in an effort to lessen their sentences.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Arnold looks forward to his day in court and is confident that the judicial process will lead to his ultimate vindication.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Lions released a statement following Arnold\u2019s arrest last Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are aware of the legal situation regarding Terrion Arnold. We will not comment at this time out of respect for the ongoing legal process.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arnold was not the only one charged. Six others\u2014Arianna Del Valle, Jasmine Randazzo, Lyndell Hudson, Christion Williams, Boakai Hilton, and Freddie Lee Hughes III\u2014have also been detained and charged in connection with the incident. Hilton faces three counts of felony robbery, three counts of felony kidnapping, and one count each of conspiracy to commit robbery and conspiracy to commit kidnapping. Hudson, Williams, and Hughes also face life sentences on similar charges. Del Valle and Randazzo accepted plea deals on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u00a92026 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit mlive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Kory Woods, Tribune News Service On Monday, a Hillsborough County judge found probable cause in the case…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":323641,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[8731,119,110,135,137,136],"class_list":["post-323640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-detroit-lions","tag-nfl","tag-sports","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=323640"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/323640\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/323641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=323640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=323640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=323640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}