Quinton Dunbar lawyer to TNT: Seahawks CB victim of ‘amateur-hour’ police, lying witnesses
The attorney for Quinton Dunbar told The News Tribune he has given prosecutors and police in Florida affidavits from five victims and witnesses recanting what they told detectives about the Seahawks cornerback’s involvement in an armed robbery.
Attorney Michael Grieco told the TNT Friday Dunbar was at the party in question Wednesday night in Miramar, Fla. Grieco said Dunbar, 27, is a victim of young people at the party who initially made up stories to police about the involvement of a wealthy, young NFL player in the robbery of expensive watches and cash—and that Dunbar is a victim of “amateur-hour” work by the police department that created the arrest warrant for four alleged felonies against the Seahawks player.
The public information officer for the Miramar police department, Tania Rues, told The News Tribune after Grieco’s comments, later Friday: “The warrant still stands as of right now.”
The arrest warrant for Dunbar is for four felony counts of armed robbery. The warrant is based upon a police detective’s probable cause report from interviews at the scene with four victims and a witness.
Grieco said he has since received affidavits from those four victims and the witness that say Dunbar did not have any involvement in the robberies.
“The victims—the alleged victims—have completely recanted, on paper, sworn, their stories,” the attorney said.
Grieco said he received the affidavits exonerating Dunbar on Friday and delivered them to the Broward State Attorney responsible for prosecuting the case, and to the Miramar police department.
Greico’s goal is for prosecutors to read the affidavits and drop the arrest warrant on Dunbar, by determining the statements the attorney collected trump the original statements victims and witnesses gave a detective from the Miramar police department at the party Wednesday night into early Thursday morning.
The TNT contacted the Broward State Attorney’s office Friday night and asked:
1. Did the state attorney’s office receive those affidavits from Grieco, or anyone else, stating Dunbar was not involved in any robbery?
2. Is Dunbar remaining required to turn himself into authorities per the warrant?
3. Is there any precedent of the Broward State Attorney’s office dropping an arrest warrant before a wanted person turns himself in, because of recanted statements? Or at this point will the warrant stand and evidence weighed after he surrenders and there’s an arraignment?
“Sorry,” Paula McMahon, spokesperson for the Broward State Attorney’s office told the TNT late Friday. “We have no comment until we can review all of the evidence.”
So, all the statements—the original from the victims and witnesses at the party that night, the conflicting, recanted ones Grieco said he presented Friday to prosecutors and police—are under consideration.
Friday night, Dunbar remained at large. He and New York Giants cornerback Deandre Baker had not turned themselves into authorities stemming from robberies at the party at a house late Wednesday in Miramar, 20 minutes north of the Overtown section of Miami where Dunbar grew up.
Greico said Dunbar was still in south Florida Friday night.
Shaheed Samuel, the agent the NFL Players’ Association lists as Dunbar’s representative, answered a call from The News Tribune Friday afternoon. Then he said “I’m tied up right now” and was unable to talk. Asked if he knew Dunbar’s whereabouts or status, Samuel hung up.
Grieco said Dunbar had initially worked out with prosecutors a plan to turn himself in on Monday, but that now authorities want Dunbar in custody immediately.
Asked what Dunbar did at a house party to put himself in a position to be under an arrest warrant for four felonies, Grieco said: “He became an NFL player.”
“The real story is the Miramar police department rushed with judgment on two NFL players,” Grieco said.
He sharply criticized the police for announcing the arrest warrants on its official Twitter account Thursday after they were issued.
“I’ve never seen such low-class behavior from a police department,” Grieco, a former prosecutor in the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s office, told The News Tribune.
“The handling by the department...it’s amateur-hour.
“Now, they are digging in their heels” by insisting on carrying out the arrest warrant,” Grieco said.
Miramar PD is giving what the department spokesperson has termed a reasonable time for Dunbar and Baker to surrender to authorities.
The TNT asked Rues, the Miramar police PIO, what a “reasonable amount of time” was before authorities would go find Dunbar to apprehend him. Rues was also asked if police felt Dunbar was a flight risk to avoid apprehension.
“Unfortunately, we cannot comment further in regards to specifics about reasonable amount of time or whether or not he is considered a flight risk,” Rues said.
“The warrant stands for right now. We cannot speculate as to whether or not he will surrender.”
Four victims and one other witness gave conflicting reports to police whether Dunbar had a gun during the robberies they depict Baker led, of expensive watches and thousands of dollars in cash at the party at a residence in Miramar that began at 8 p.m. Wednesday night. One witness said Dunbar had and showed a gun. Multiple others said he did not.
One witness said Dunbar and Baker had lost $70,000 at a party earlier this week.
Chapter 812.13 of the 2019 Florida Statutes states, in part: “If in the course of committing the robbery the offender carried a firearm or other deadly weapon, then the robbery is a felony of the first degree, punishable by imprisonment for a term of years not exceeding life imprisonment or as provided in (other statutory guidelines).”
Florida has a minimum-sentencing law that requires a sentence of at least 10 years in prison for anyone convicted of a felony while using or attempting to use a firearm.
If in the course of committing a robbery the offender did not use a firearm or deadly weapon, then the same Florida statute says the robbery is a felony in the second degree.
If and when Dunbar does surrender, he will remain in jail indefinitely.
The arrest warrant filed Thursday specifies Dunbar is being sought for a “no bond hold.” That means he would remain in custody until at least until a judge holds an arraignment, likely next week. At arraignment, the judge could set a bond amount. It’s unclear whether he would. He may not, not for the four felony charges Dunbar faces for armed robbery with a firearm.
The Seahawks cornerback’s attorney, doesn’t think the case should get that far. Grieco think prosecutors now have sufficient evidence to rescind the arrest warrant.
“They need to decide if they are going to do the right thing,” Grico said.
Rues, the Miramar police PIO, told the New York Post: “We have taped statements, sworn statements from each of the victims that were interviewed separately (four victims, one witness). The affidavit speaks for itself. If the victims have a different story to tell they have not come to the Miramar police department and given any revised or different statements.
“If the victims have a different story to tell, they have not come to the police department to give it.”
This story was originally published May 15, 2020 at 4:03 PM.
