Lawyer: Seahawks’ Quinton Dunbar ‘voluntarily surrendered’ to police
May 16, 2020, 1:11 PM | Updated: May 17, 2020, 11:15 am
Seahawks CB Quiton Dunbar turned himself in to police Saturday afternoon. (Getty)
(Getty)
After Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar turned himself in to the Broward County Jail in Florida Saturday afternoon for a warrant issued Thursday that charges him with four counts of armed robbery, he was released given a $100,000 bond and was set to be released Sunday, according to his lawyer.
Related: Dunbar’s lawyer: Letters from victims prove his innocence
Dunbar’s attorney, Michael Grieco, posted Saturday on Twitter that his client “voluntarily surrendered” while also calling the warrant “bogus.”
Today our client Quintin Dunbar voluntarily surrendered at the Broward County jail pursuant to a bogus arrest warrant based solely on uncorroborated witness statements that have since been recanted. As I write this an innocent man sits in jail, facing charges that hold no water. pic.twitter.com/HkIps6x04u
— Michael Grieco (@Mike_Grieco) May 16, 2020
Miramar Police confirmed that Dunbar and New York Giants cornerback DeAndre Baker, who was also charged for the same allegedly incident, turned themselves in to Broward County Jail.
Confirming that Deandre Baker and Quinton Dunbar have both turned themselves in (at the Broward County jail). No additional information will be provided at this time. pic.twitter.com/AThkkkKRTx
— Miramar Police (@MiramarPD) May 16, 2020
Dunbar appeared in court Sunday morning, where he was given $100,00 bond.
The news of Dunbar’s alleged involvement in an armed robbery broke Thursday by TMZ Sports, who reported Dunbar, Baker and one other individual robbed multiple people at a cookout in Florida of cash and valuable watches. Baker was reported by multiple witnesses to have had a gun while there were conflicting reports on whether or not Dunbar had a gun. The three then left in three different vehicles, which TMZ described as “strategically positioned” for an apparent getaway.
This alleged incident took place a few days after Dunbar and Baker reportedly lost roughly $70,000 in high-stakes gambling, TMZ said. Baker turned himself in to police a few hours before Dunbar on Saturday.
The alleged incident occurred Wednesday evening and the following morning, Dunbar met with Seattle media members for a virtual interview, which he was roughly 45 minutes late to. A few hours later, news broke that Dunbar had a warrant for his arrest for four counts of armed robbery. The Miramar Police Department posted on Twitter that Dunbar and Baker had warrants for their arrest, and they tagged both the Giants’ and Seahawks’ official Twitter pages in the post.
The story got more interesting on Friday, when Grieco told the Miami Herald that he had written statements from five witnesses – four of whom were alleged victims of the robbery – that said Dunbar had no involvement in any alleged robbery. Those statements were written by the same witnesses identified in the police report, Grieco said. On Friday, Grieco told Condotta that the witness reports he has state “the exact opposite” of what’s in the police report.
As Grieco told different media members that his client was innocent and that he shouldn’t have to turn himself in, Tania Rues, Miramar Police’s public information officer, said that the department had taped statements from the witnesses who were sworn in to tell the truth and that if those witnesses had a different version of the story, they had yet to tell police.
In a Saturday Instagram post, Grieco took further aim at the police’s handling of the situation. Greico also said the warrant was based solely on “uncorroborated witness statements that have since been recanted.”
“His career and reputation have been put in jeopardy as a result of an overzealous @miramarpd that was so excited about arresting a pro football player that they tweeted out their celebration and even tagged his employer in their unprofessional ‘virtual touchdown dance,” he wrote. “When this case gets dropped I wonder if the Miramar cops will be tweeting out their apology too. In my 20-year criminal justice career I have rarely seen an injustice like this.”
Andy Slater, a Fox Sports radio host in Miami, talked to 710 ESPN Seattle’s Tom, Jake and Stacy and said Grieco told him they were working on making it so Dunbar didn’t have to surrender himself to police and that Grieco was aiming to get the warrant pulled.
“He said, ‘Look, I have these letters. My client was not involved. The alleged victims … say he wasn’t involved, so can you take this back? I don’t want to have to have Dunbar turn himself in.’ And I think what really ticked him off was Miramar PD and the state’s attorney’s office were like, ‘No, he still has to come turn himself in,’” Slater said, adding that those conversations happened on Friday, a day after the warrant was issued.
The Seahawks have made just one public comment regarding Dunbar’s alleged involvement in the case, deferring questions to police and NFL investigators.
Statement from a @Seahawks Spokesperson:
We are aware of the situation involving Quinton Dunbar and still gathering information. We will defer all further comment to league investigators and local authorities.
— Seahawks PR (@seahawksPR) May 15, 2020
Dunbar was an undrafted free agent who signed with the Washington Redskins in 2015 after playing receiver at the University of Florida. He converted to cornerback his rookie season and developed into a starter. The Seahawks acquired him for a fifth-round pick earlier this offseason and he was expected to start at outside cornerback in place of Tre Flowers.
