Terrion Arnold’s attorneys secured his release from police custody on a $1 million bond on Monday, but they couldn’t save his roster spot with the Lions.
Mere hours after a Florida judge ruled against the prosecution’s request to have Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold remain in custody before his trial on Kidnapping and robbery charges, the Lions decided to release their 2024 first-round selection.
As ESPN’s Adam Schefter noted on a follow-up X post, Arnold now becomes the first player selected in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft to be released.
The move marked the latest event in a rollercoaster of a day for Arnold, who barely had time to celebrate his release before learning of his dismissal from the Lions.
The former Alabama product stands accused of orchestrating a revenge kidnapping and robbery plot against his driver and his driver’s hairdresser, in retribution for the theft of $250,000 worth of property from an Airbnb in Largo, Florida, on February 1.
Specifically, prosecutors accuse Arnold of using two teenage girls, 18 and 19, to lure the victims to the apartment of one of the girls on February 3, with the promise of a sexual encounter. Alleged associates of Arnold are accused of beating the victims from the evening hours of February 3 on into the early morning hours of February 4.
As it turns out, the men Arnold reportedly believed stole from him did not, in fact, commit the crime.
Prosecutors believe Arnold orchestrated the plot through a co-defendant named Bokai Hilton. Arnold’s legal team, who have entered a not guilty plea for their client, believe Hilton alone was the mastermind of the scheme.
The two females involved, Arnold’s former girlfriend Arianna Del Valle and her friend Jasmine Randazzo, have pleaded guilty and are cooperating with prosecutors against Arnold.