The attorney for Terrion Arnold put out another statement Friday, March 27, refuting suggestions the Detroit Lions cornerback was at the center of a text message thread connected to a Florida kidnapping and reiterating Arnold “had no involvement in this situation.”
“We want to address recent reporting that has inaccurately characterized Terrion Arnold’s alleged connection to this matter,” attorney Tim Jansen said in a statement emailed by Arnold’s agent. “Claims that Mr. Arnold was ‘at the center’ of text message communications related to this incident are entirely misleading and reflect a gross negligence in accurately reporting the facts.
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“In reality, the collection of messages in question consists of more than 300 individual texts. Within that volume, Mr. Arnold’s name appears only a handful of times, approximately five, and only in passing references by third parties. At no point do these messages demonstrate that Mr. Arnold was directly involved in any conversations related to the alleged conduct.”
Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold walks off the field during warmups before the Green Bay Packers game at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. on Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. He was wearing a T-shirt in support of injured teammate Aidan Hutchinson.
Arnold was mentioned by his first name nine times in a 101-page document that included 281 text messages between two women charged with eight felony counts of kidnapping with a firearm, robbery with a firearm, conspiracy to commit kidnapping and conspiracy to commit robbery.
Prosecutors allege the women, Arianna Del Valle and Jasmine Randazzo, were part of a plot to lure three men to a Florida apartment, where the men were beaten, robbed and held at gunpoint.
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The text message thread shows the assault was in retaliation, prosecutors say, for what the defendants believed was one of the victim’s involvement in two robberies at a rental unit Arnold had in Largo, Fla. Arnold had $100,000 in cash, an $80,000 watch and a cell phone stolen from the unit in two separate incidents, according to court documents.
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Del Valle, Randazzo, Boakai Hilton, Lyndell Hudson, Christion Williams and Freddie Hughes all are being held without bail and face life in prison on the charges. Hudson and Williams also face an additional charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
All six have pleaded not guilty, though prosecutors wrote in a motion for the pretrial detention of Hughes filed March 20 that Del Valle and Randazzo have since confessed to their roles in the incident.
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Arnold’s first name also appears once in a second 27-page text message thread between five of the defendants that prosecutors say was used to coordinate part of the assault.
Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold (0) breaks a pass intended for Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Trey Palmer (10) during the first half at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, September 15, 2024. The play was called pass interference on Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold.
Arnold is not a party to either of the text message threads. He has not been charged with a crime and police have not alleged that he was in the apartment where the beating took place at the time of the incident.
The text messages shared with the Free Press under a Freedom of Information Act request were turned over to defense attorneys this week as part of the discovery phase of the case.
In the thread between the two women, Del Valle asked Randazzo to try to lure one of the victims to her apartment.
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Randazzo asked, “for what”, and “who u w” in separate messages.
Seconds later, Del Valle replies, “terrion”. Then adds, “js do it”, and “its for them”.
Later in the thread, Randazzo asked, “why he want him over there”. Del Valle replied, “they tryna set him up”, and added, “nd he tryna pay us for it”.
“wow”, Randazzo said. Adding in her next text, “y tho?”
Wrote Del Valle, “they stole all the rest of their shu”.
“There are no text messages showing Mr. Arnold communicating with any individuals about this matter, nor is there any evidence suggesting his participation or involvement in the underlying events,” Jansen said in his statement. “Any implication otherwise is unsupported by the facts and unfairly misrepresents his position.
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“We urge the public and media to rely on accurate, verified information rather than speculation. Mr. Arnold maintains his position that he had no involvement in this situation, and the available evidence clearly supports that conclusion.”
Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Attorney: Terrion Arnold says ‘he had no involvement’ in kidnapping