Pro Football Rumors
Just under five months ago, the authorities of Miami-Dade County announced that a search was underway for former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown. The four-time first-team All-Pro wideout was wanted on an attempted murder charge stemming from an incident that occurred at a celebrity boxing match the prior month in Miami. Today, per Adam Schefter of ESPN, Brown was finally apprehended.
Schefter relayed reports from Miami police spokesman Mike Vega, who detailed how U.S. Marshals took Brown into custody in Dubai, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. Brown was then flown to Essex County, New Jersey, and he is now being held until he can be extradited back to Miami.
Back in May, police responded to reports of gunshots at the aforementioned boxing event in Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood and detained Brown before later releasing him. An off-duty officer observed Brown involved in a physical altercation with another man. Witnesses in the parking lot of the event labeled Brown the shooter. Brown, 37, did not have a weapon on him when officers patted him down, but he was accused of taking a security officer’s gun. Investigators found two spent shell casings and an empty gun holster at the scene.
A Fort Lauderdale resident, Brown was captured on a cellphone video punching a man and appearing to take the security officer’s gun before running toward the man he punched. Meeting with police May 21, the man Brown allegedly punched said the former All-Pro receiver began to run toward him with a firearm before shooting at him twice, possibly grazing the man’s neck. He and Brown struggled for the gun, according to the warrant. Brown walked away as police arrived; the alleged victim, who was treated at a nearby hospital, told police he had known Brown since 2022. Released later that night in May, Brown said on social media people attempting to steal his jewelry “jumped” him.
More developments will undoubtedly emerge from this situation, and it continues a spiral for a player once viewed as the NFL’s premier wide receiver.
This incident and the long-awaited resulting arrest are just the latest in a downward spiral of several legal problems. Since unceremoniously ending his NFL career by removing his jersey, shoulder pads, and gloves in Tampa Bay, several domestic violence charges, failure to pay child support, and some other violent allegations have tarnished the name of one of the 2010’s most dominant receivers.
A second-degree attempted murder charge carries a maximum 15-year prison sentence and up to a $10K fine in event of a conviction. Back in June, the original plan was to place Brown on house arrest pending a trial. Considering Brown’s decision to flee the country, it’s unlikely such concessions will be offered now.
