The legal situation for former Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold continues to develop as things are looking tougher each day since his release. Because some favorable conditions of his release were based on his employment in the National Football League, the state has pushed for a reconsideration of those conditions in order to more securely confine him as proceedings go on.
When Arnold was released on a $1MM bond on Monday, Hillsborough County (Fla.) Judge Christopher Sabella set three conditions to his release. First, Arnold was prohibited from contacting any of the six co-defendants or any witnesses in the case. Second, he was required to surrender his passport within 48 hours of release. Lastly, he was “ordered confined to his residence in Tallahassee, Florida, except when he would be playing, training, and traveling with the Lions or making court-related appearances or legal appointments,” per contributors with ESPN and the Associated Press.
The state had wanted Arnold to be held without bond, but Sabella informed the prosecutors that they were “not there yet” in their responsibility to show a strong case for Arnold’s guilt. With Arnold granted his released, they asked the court to “require Arnold to wear a GPS tracking device, but his attorneys argued that he would not be able to play football with such a device.”
With the Lions waiving of Arnold, the state attorney’s office filed a request to modify the case to once again request the GPS monitor, according to Greg Auman of FOX Sports. A hearing to discuss the proposed change to the conditions of his pre-trial release was scheduled for 9:30am, the morning of July 6. Despite the cessation of Arnold’s employment in the NFL, his attorney, Timothy Jansen, filed a request “for Arnold to be able to appear via Zoom video chat for his hearing…because he will be out of state.”
It’s unclear why Arnold is scheduled to be out of state. His only allowances for leaving his residence were Lions- or case-related reasons. There may be unfinished business between Arnold and his former employer. We noted in our last update that the Lions’ decision to release Arnold for “personal conduct that adversely affected” the team would give Detroit the opportunity to void his remaining guarantees and, potentially, recoup any prorated bonuses already paid.
Per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, Arnold could “file a grievance fighting any such determination,” though doing so would subject him to a second legal testimony. Arnold would need to prove that he did not engage in personal conduct detrimental to the team, and any arguments he makes in the grievance proceedings would be admissible in court for his criminal proceedings.
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