Tampa, Florida — A Tampa judge set bond at $1 million on Monday for Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold for his role in an alleged assault and kidnapping plot, though his attorneys argued he wasn’t part of the February attack.
Wearing a red jumpsuit with his hands cuffed, Arnold listened as Tampa Police Detective Scott Barnett described an alleged plan in which three men say they were assaulted and briefly kidnapped in retaliation for stealing property. Police said there’s no evidence the victims stole the property.
Arnold, 23, who was staying in Florida at the time of the alleged assaults in February, is one of seven charged in connection with the incident and has denied involvement. He faces three counts of kidnapping, three counts of armed robbery, one count of conspiracy to kidnap, and one count of conspiracy to commit armed robbery.
During a pretrial detention hearing in Hillsborough County Circuit Court in Tampa, Hillsborough County Assistant State’s Attorney Kevin Riley said Arnold may not have been inside the apartment where the three men were pistol-whipped and attacked, but the other defendants “didn’t go over without the direction of Mr. Arnold.”
But after a three-hour hearing on Monday, Judge Christopher Sabella determined the evidence “just isn’t there at this point” to have enough evidence to hold Arnold without bond, though he noted he found there was probable cause in the case. He set Arnold’s bond at $1 million.
“What distinguishes Mr. Arnold from those other six (co-defendants) is he has no hands on, he never goes into the apartment, there’s nothing on his phone, his social media, his texts,” Sabella said.
Sabella also rejected a request by prosecutors to require Arnold to wear a GPS tether.
Arnold is accused of “coordinating and directing” the armed robbery and kidnapping of multiple people in February in alleged retaliation for thefts that occurred at his Largo, Florida, rental home. Arnold allegedly believed the victims had stolen $200,000 of property from the Airbnb at which he was staying, though prosecutors said there is no evidence to prove they were involved in the theft.
The other defendants include Boakai Hilton, Lyndell Hudson, Freddie Lee Hughes III, Christion Williams, Jasmine Randazzo and Arianna Del Valle. All of the other defendants have been denied bond.
Randazzo and Del Valle already pleaded guilty to their roles in the incident.
Arnold appeared in court with multiple attorneys, including Denver attorney Harvey Steinberg, who has represented many professional athletes and public figures in felony cases; Tallahassee attorney R. Timothy Jansen; and Tampa attorney AJ Alvarez.
Steinberg said the only thing prosecutors have shown is that Arnold was suspicious his phone had been taken and he wanted to confront the people he felt were responsible.
“There is zero evidence that suggests Mr. Arnold had any idea or was aware there was going to be a beating, there was going to be guns involved, anything,” Steinberg said.
Focus of pretrial detention hearing
Monday’s hearing focused largely on the testimony of Barnett, the Tampa detective who detailed police conversations with other defendants and witnesses.
He testified that one of the victims was hired as a driver by Arnold and he and the other two victims would hang out with Arnold and his friends before the attack.
Randazzo, one of Arnold’s co-defendants, texted one of the victims Feb. 3 asking him to come over, which is where Barnett said the conflict started. A large amount of property belonging to Arnold, co-defendant Boakai Hilton and two other people went missing Feb. 1, Barnett said.
Two of the victims went up to the door to see Randazzo, one under the impression he’d be having sex with Randazzo that night and the other there to make sure his friend was OK.
It took a while for someone to open the door, but when it opened, it was Del Valle, who said Randazzo was not there, Barnett testified.
Not believing Del Valle, the victim looked around the apartment, Barnett said. When he opened a bedroom closet door, he saw two armed men inside, Williams and Hudson. They allegedly shoved him up against a wall and demanded he give their property back.
“They’re punching them, they’re striking them with the weapons, and they’re holding them against the wall so they can’t leave,” Barnett said.
The third victim, who had been waiting in the car, got worried when the second man didn’t come back to the car and went to check on him, Barnett said. He saw the door standing wide open and heard men’s voices yelling.
“He runs into the bedroom, and he is immediately pistol-whipped in the head by CJ (Williams),” Barnett said.
At one point, Barnett testified that Williams allegedly took his pistol and stuck it in one of the victims’ mouths, demanding to know where their property was.
Hughes, Williams and Hudson allegedly began beating the three men. Del Valle, meanwhile, was allegedly sitting on the bed, FaceTiming what was going on and texting.
“(One of the victims) thought they were going to kill him,” Barnett said. “Because they weren’t getting the answers they wanted and they thought they were going to be killed and stuffed in the car, or taken somewhere and killed.”
The victims were ultimately released to go back to their car.
Arnold’s alleged involvement
Barnett testified that Del Valle met Arnold at a club and started a relationship with him.
Del Valle told Barnett that Arnold was the one who initially pinned the theft on two of the three victims, Barnett said.
“(Arnold) said they should lure (the two victims) to a hotel and press them for information about where their stuff is,” Barnett said.
Throughout his testimony on Monday, Barnett never pinpointed Arnold as being inside the apartment where the assaults allegedly happened.
“Do you have any evidence to suggest Arnold went into the apartment?” Steinberg asked.
“No, to the contrary, all of them said he did not go in,” Barnett said.
As Riley made his arguments about Arnold’s involvement in the crime, Sabella, the judge, asked if luring someone to a place to confront them about an act is a crime.
“To confront them? No, that’s the whole point,” Riley said. “If his intent is only to question them, does principal theory then encompass him if they go farther than questioning and commit all the acts? I’d say yes … we’re arguing what he did is a foreseeable thing that could happen when you’re luring someone over to the house.”
Under Florida law, principal theory means anyone who is involved in the commission of a crime can be held responsible even if they were not there for the actual crime. This is how prosecutors are charging Arnold.
Barnett testified that Arnold was in his vehicle outside the home as the victims were allegedly assaulted.
Steinberg, one of Arnold’s attorneys, asked Barnett if Arnold was the “trophy” police were pursuing in the case.
“Arnold’s the trophy in this case, and you guys were after Arnold from very early in this case, correct?” Steinberg said.
“We were after anyone involved,” Barnett said.
Riley, the assistant state attorney, said there is a “substantial probability” that Arnold committed the crimes he’s charged with, but “we are not going to sit here and try to tell you Mr. Arnold was, as the defense said, the quarterback of this beating going on at the house.”
“We are here to establish that the only reason this plan or this act gets off the ground is because of Mr. Arnold,” Riley said. “If Mr. Boaki is the quarterback, he’s the general manager.”
Arnold denies involvement
Arnold’s entire family attended Monday’s hearing. Cristin White, who is also the general counsel for the Florida state court system and is a close family friend of the Arnolds, testified on his behalf, saying his family “raised him right.” She said he has a 6-week-old daughter and has a special relationship with his family.
“He so cares about family, he is wanting to be the best version of himself. Terrion is also a very spiritual person and he is so concerned about his relationship with God and wanting to be sure he is a good example to society,” White said. “I’ve known him for six years, and I’ve never seen anything about him that indicates he’s a danger to any person.”
Arnold, who was arrested on Wednesday, has denied any involvement in the incident through his spokesperson and attorney.
In video of Thursday’s court appearance, one of Arnold’s attorneys, R. Timothy Jansen, said that Arnold is “absolutely denying these allegations.”
On Wednesday night, Denise White, the CEO of EAG Sports Management, released a statement that read, “Terrion Arnold categorically denies any involvement in the matters underlying the allegations made against him and maintains his innocence.”
“There 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,” White said in the statement. “Mr. Arnold looks forward to his day in court and is confident that the judicial process will lead to his ultimate vindication.”
What is Arnold accused of?
Arnold is accused by prosecutors of being the “primary conspirator” in the February incident.
Barnett testified that a content creator who’d been hired by Arnold and was in the car with him, Hilton, and Hughes on the way back from Tallahassee told police that Hilton and Arnold were “the two main people who were planning the luring of the individuals to the apartment to find out where their stolen property was.” The content creator was not involved in the alleged crime, Barnett said.
Investigators found Del Valle streamed the February incident to Arnold, Hilton, and Hughes, as they were traveling to the apartment. Investigators also found a group chat with all defendants was created, where Arnold and Hilton reportedly gave directions to Del Valle, Williams, and Hudson during the assault.
But under cross-examination from Steinberg, Barnett said the content creator said Arnold did not say anything on FaceTime while the alleged crime was occurring.
“He said that Boaki (Hilton) and Terrion (Arnold) were, Boakai is holding the phone while driving and Arnold is sitting next to him, and they are watching the FaceTime,” Barnett said. “He did not hear (Arnold) say anything.”
“(The content creator) never suggested Arnold said ‘beat him up, do things to him,’… Am I right?” Steinberg asked.
“That is correct,” Barnett said.
“All he said he heard Arnold say was we want to confront him,” Steinberg said.
“That is correct,” Barnett said.
How long has Arnold been with the Lions?
Arnold was a first-round pick by the Lions in the 2024 NFL Draft. He had an up-and-down start to his NFL career through two seasons.
His 2025 season ended prematurely because of a severe shoulder injury, which required surgery. Arnold was a participant at the team’s mandatory minicamp and was spotted during multiple OTA practices in Allen Park this past spring.
kberg@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Bond set at $1M for Detroit Lion Terrion Arnold in alleged plot over thefts
Reporting by Kara Berg, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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By Kara Berg, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
