Attorney: Affidavits say Dunbar not in robbery

Michael Grieco, the attorney for Seattle Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar, says he has “five sworn affidavits from witnesses” that say his client was not involved with the alleged armed robbery that took place in Miramar, Florida, on Wednesday.

Miramar Police Department issued arrest warrants for both Dunbar and New York Giants cornerback DeAndre Baker Thursday night along with a 14-page affidavit detailing the alleged crimes that the two NFL players were accused of committing.

Grieco says he provided this information on their “star witnesses recanting within 48 hours” to the Miramar Police Department and advised the state attorney’s office, but they insisted that Dunbar still turn himself in on the warrant. Grieco says he’s looking for another avenue so that his client isn’t arrested on what he calls a “bogus case.”

“I’m confident that he was there but confident he didn’t commit a crime,” Grieco said about Dunbar. “He got targeted because of who he was.”

Grieco didn’t want to speak on the culpability of Baker, who he said is represented by a another attorney and has a different set of circumstances. He did note that the two players aren’t tight, despite being South Florida natives who know each other, citing a five-year age difference.

Miramar Police spokesman Tania Rues told the Seattle Times that none of the victims or witnesses have approached police to recant recorded statements. Rues said they have four sworn statements from witnesses stating their view of the incident.

Miramar Police said they have been in contact with attorneys for both players. They noted that they would update any additional information on Twitter. The state attorney’s office didn’t immediately respond to a message for further information on this.

Baker’s arrest warrant is for four counts of armed robbery with a firearm and four counts of aggravated assault with a firearm. Dunbar is wanted on four counts of armed robbery with a firearm.

The alleged incident took place late Wednesday night at a party that began Wednesday evening. According to the arrest warrant, Baker and Dunbar are accused of stealing money and watches with force while armed with semi-automatic firearms. It states that Baker intentionally threatened victims with a firearm.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit, multiple witnesses said at one point during the incident Baker ordered another suspect wearing a red mask to shoot an individual who was just entering the party.

The affidavit includes conflicting accounts from witnesses as to whether Dunbar was armed, with some saying they didn’t see a gun in his possession.

Grieco cites this as an example of unreliable witnesses and he believes it is “ridiculous” that Dunbar is still expected to turn himself in.

“I assume this is because Miramar did their virtual touchdown dance on Twitter when they were talking about their arrest warrants. Now they’re trying to cobble a case together,” Grieco said. “I don’t know how they’re going to do it.”

Rues said she refuted the suggestion that the Miramar Police was excited to arrest a celebrity noting they refused all on-camera interview requests and posted the police record online and directed media to it via Twitter. Rues noted that Grieco’s statement suggested such was “uncalled for” and that they treated it the same as any other case.

The NFL said Thursday night it is aware of the matter and would have no further comment at this time. The league will review the incident under its personal conduct policy and hand out discipline if warranted.

Baker, 22, was a first-round pick of the Giants in 2019. The Seahawks acquired the 27-year-old Dunbar in a March trade with the Washington Redskins and introduced him to reporters on a video call earlier Thursday. Both players are from Miami.

“We are aware of the situation. We have been in contact with DeAndre. We have no further comment at this time,” the Giants said in a statement.

The Giants traded up to select Baker with the 30th pick in the first round of last year’s NFL draft despite at least two teams flagging him as a risky pick because of his attitude, sources told ESPN. He was benched for effort and performance late in his rocky first season, and the coaching staff had a trust issue with him, sources said.

Baker finished his rookie season with 55 tackles and no interceptions, and he allowed seven touchdowns as the nearest defender, fourth most in the NFL, according to Next Gen Stats data. He was among the candidates to start opposite free-agent acquisition James Bradberry this season.

Dunbar made 11 starts last season and 25 over five years with Washington, which signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Florida in 2015. He has nine career interceptions and six over the past two seasons. He had requested to be traded or released, sources said, because he felt dissatisfied with his contract, which was entering its final year and had a non-guaranteed base salary of $3.25 million.

Shortly before the warrant for his arrest was issued Thursday, he held a 15-minute introductory teleconference call and told Seattle reporters: “You just want to feel wanted at the end of the day. … I just hope to repay them with the way I carry myself as a person.”

The Seahawks said in a statement that the team was “aware of the situation involving Quinton Dunbar and still gathering information. We will defer all further comment to league investigators and local authorities.”

Dunbar was expected to compete with Tre Flowers for the Seahawks’ starting job at right cornerback.

Information from ESPN’s Jordan Raanan and Brady Henderson was used in this report.