Police Believe Antonio Brown Is Still Inside His House, As Police Wait For His Surrender
Former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Antonio Brown is believed to still be inside his Tampa residence as police wait for him to turn himself in peacefully, after failing to take him into custody Thursday. Today marks at least five days that police have been waiting to arrest Brown.
An arrest warrant was issued on Thursday according to the local Fox affiliate in Tampa. Police arrived around 11am that day to try to get Brown to come outside so they could take him into custody on a misdemeanor battery charge. However, Tampa police say that Brown refused to communicate with officers or open his door, despite them using a megaphone to try to convince him to come out.
Police sources tell League of Justice that there has been a steady police presence outside of Brown’s home since Thursday and they believe he is still inside his home, passively refusing to surrender. Police say there is no other option except for Brown to either be arrested or turn himself in. The warrant will remain active. However, sources say that Brown does not seem ready to do that yet.
Eventually Brown will have to be arrested even if he is able to later be released on bond and try to negotiate a plea deal on the charges, say sources. There is a possibility that Brown could face an additional charge for refusing to surrender which may be categorized as a non-violent form of resisting arrest. Non-violent resisting arrest is also a misdemeanor carrying up to one year in jail or twelve months of probation and a $1,000 fine. However, if the resisting arrest turns violent, the penalty increases significantly and could carry up to five years in jail or five years on probation.
Police say they are not concerned for Brown’s well-being because Brown has allegedly been in contact with other people over the past few days, just not them. However, police sources say those people have not been able to convince Brown to come out of his house. It is unclear whether Brown’s attorney is involved.
Brown has been active on social media over the past day or so, facing lots of comments and criticism for promoting his music in the face of an active arrest warrant and making comments about his love for Deion Sanders, the new football coach for University of Colorado Boulder.
Friday, police said they had made multiple attempts to arrest Brown and will continue to work to resolve the situation “peacefully.”
Brown was charged with misdemeanor battery after allegedly throwing a shoe at his ex’s ponytail and trying to evict her from his residence. The charge could carry up to one year in jail or 12 months of probation and a $1,000 fine. Under Florida law, Domestic Violence Battery is: actual and intentional touching or striking of another person without consent when the person is a family or household member.
The ex and some of his children left the home on November 28th, after the alleged domestic incident. Brown’s ex reportedly told police that Brown allegedly threatened to shoot her if she tried to reenter the residence. In Florida, threats to shoot or kill someone are only unlawful if they are made in writing or sent electronically. It is doubtful that a verbal threat would be actionable. Brown’s ex also alleged that Brown had at least two firearms in the home, though it is unclear if those are legally owned firearms or not.
Last week, an attorney for Tampa police attempted to get a Judge to sign off on a temporary risk protection order to restrict Brown’s access to firearms, citing possible concerns over mental health issues and a history of violence related to at least one prior arrest, but the request was denied.
Many fans on social media have been promoting Brown’s single “Put That Shit On”, including Dutch footballer Memphis Depay who gave a shout out to the song during the Netherland’s World Cup victory over the United States. Brown has been sharing those posts and promoting his single while allegedly holed up in his house.
Brown has not played in the NFL since January 2nd, after he took his shirt off and stormed off the field, abandoning his Tampa Bay Buccaneers teammates during a game against the New York Jets. His exit was spurred on by an argument with the head coach, Bruce Arians in the third quarter. Brown later accused the team of injecting him with painkillers, pressuring him to play injured and trying to paint him as someone who needed mental health treatment to scapegoat him.
Back in 2020, Hollywood, Florida police were called to Brown’s home when Brown had another domestic dispute with a woman, though it is unclear if it is the same woman involved in Thursday’s incident. During the 2020 incident, which Brown live streamed on Instagram, he held a bag of penis-shaped candy and said: ‘D***s for d***s’ then tossed the candies at police.
Brown has made headlines recently for remaining as President of Donda Sports, which is owned by Kanye West. The two have been spotted together and Brown has reportedly remained loyal to West’s agency despite the controversy surrounding West’s reported antisemitic remarks.
Brown recently took aim, on social media, at his former teammate Tom Brady and his ex-wife Gisele Bundchen amid news of the couple’s divorce and even posted an old picture of himself with Brady’s ex.
More on the charge Brown is facing, HERE.
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