Five days after his arrest on eight felony charges related to an alleged armed robbery and kidnapping incident, a Hillsborough County (Florida) judge denied prosecutors’ motion for Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold to be held without bail until trial.
Instead, Arnold was given a $1 million bond and ordered to surrender his passport within 48 hours, to not have contact with any of his six co-defendants or witnesses in the case and to be confined to house arrest except when he leaves for court-related appearances, legal appointments or to practice and play for the Lions.
That’s an enormous win for Arnold, who could face up to life in prison if convicted on all charges. The credit goes to his lawyer Harvey Steinberg, who successfully argued against the state’s wishes that Arnold be required to wear a GPS tracing device.
“We strenuously object to the ankle bracelet,” Steinberg said.
“I’m gonna reluctantly reject the state’s request for a GPS ankle monitor,” the judge said.
Although the judge found that there was probable cause for Arnold to stand trial on the charges, he explained that what distinguished the University of Alabama product from the other co-defendants was that he wasn’t at the apartment when the victims were pistol whipped and held at gunpoint, and there was nothing on his phone or social-media accounts linking him to the crime.
Arnold is accused of “coordinating and directing” his co-defendants to lure three men to an apartment where they were beaten and held at gunpoint for hours after midnight on Feb. 4. On Feb. 3, Arnold and three others reported to the Largo Police Department that their personal belongings worth more than $250,000 had been stolen from an Airbnb that Arnold had rented.
According to Tampa police detective Scott Barnett’s testimony this morning, Arnold and his crew wrongly suspected that Arnold’s driver and the driver’s barber friend had robbed them of their belongings. The cop explained that Arnold offered to pay his 18-year-old lover, Arianne Del Valle, and her 19-year-old roommate, Jasmine Randazzo, to lure the victims to their apartment to take a vicious beating.
“They are trying to set him up and he’s trying to pay us for it,” Del Valle texted Randazzo about the ruse to get the victims to their apartment under the guise of a booty call, according to texts read by Barnett at Monday’s hearing.
Both female co-defendants pleaded guilty in the case and are cooperating with authorities as part of their plea deals.
Barnett also testified Jackson Ridgeway, who was allegedly in a car with Arnold and co-defendant Boakai Hilton during the incident, told him that Hilton and Arnold were on a FaceTime call “trying to get somebody to go to an apartment so they (Arnold and Hilton) can talk to [the victims] about the stolen property.”
However, Steinberg was able to get Barnett to concede that Ridgeway said Hilton was holding the phone during the FaceTime call. The Denver-based lawyer continued to hammer Barnett about the FaceTime call between Del Valle and Hilton.
“She never once said to you that Arnold told us what to do when the quote-unquote ‘beatdown’ was happening,” Steinberg said.
“Specifically, no,” Barnett replied.
Steinberg called Cristin Erica White to the stand as a character witness for Arnold. White is a close family friend to the Arnold’s and an employee of the Florida state court system.
“He so cares about family,” White said while revealing that Arnold has a six-week-old daughter. “He is wanting to be the best version of himself, and I’ve personally observed this.”
When asked by the defense if Arnold posed any sort of danger to society, White said, “I absolutely do not think he poses any danger. Terrion is one of the most caring people I’ve ever met. Every time he comes home, he’s going to see people in the community, putting on events to support young people.
“I have known him personally for the last six years, and I’ve never seen anything about him that indicates that he’s a danger to any person.”
White also called Arnold’s football career “inspirational” and pointed out that he’s “a very spiritual person.”
Whether the Lions will allow Arnold to play between now and trial is unknown. The team released a statement when he was arrested last week:
“We are aware of the legal situation regarding Terrion Arnold. We will not comment at this time out of respect for the ongoing legal process.”
Arnold was Detroit’s first-round pick with the #24 overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft. He was known as “Miss Terry’s favorite player” while playing for Miss Terry’s husband, Nick Saban, at Alabama.
“Today’s ruling by Judge Sabella confirms that there is very little evidence to even suggest any criminal involvement by Mr. Arnold,” Denise White said in a statement to USA TODAY Sports. White is the CEO of EAG Sports Management, the agency that represents Arnold.