After release on bail Quinton Dunbar apologizes to Seahawks
Freed, for now, from jail, cornerback Quinton Dunbar says he’s sorry to the Seahawks for any “unnecessary distractions.”
“I am very grateful to be apart [sic] of a team that supports one another and uphold[s] the credibility of each of its members through adverse situations,” Dunbar posted on his social-media page late Sunday night.
He wrote online hours after he posted $100,000 bail and was released from Broward County (Fla.) jail while facing felony charges of armed robbery in south Florida.
“Moving forward, this entire situation has taught me how to not associate myself with environments that may mischaracterize my values and who I am,” Dunbar, 27, wrote.
So ended a Sunday of overnight incarceration, a morning court hearing, then evening release on bond, according to records at the Broward County main jail in Fort Lauderdale.
His case is far from over.
Prosecutors will review the evidence, including the statements from four victims and one witness a Miramar, Fla., police detective gathered at a party Wednesday night where the crimes allegedly occurred. They will review what Dunbar’s attorney says and read in court Sunday as affidavits from the four victims, who he says “completely recanted” what they told police. Prosecutors will then decide if formal charges will be filed and whether pre-trial proceedings will continue.
The four victims’ statements to police led to the arrest warrant for Dunbar, 27, on four counts of armed robbery. The $100,000 bail was $25,000 each for four counts of armed robbery, as set by judge Michael Davis in the 17th Circuit Court of Florida in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday morning.
Prosecutors and the Miramar police department that requested the arrest warrant for Dunbar had asked for a “no-bond hold” in Broward County jail while trial proceedings continued.
Dunbar surrendered to authorities Saturday afternoon, on the third day he’d been wanted on the warrant. His Miami lawyer, Michael Grieco, had sought to get the arrest warrant rescinded because Grieco told The News Tribune Friday he had affidavits from five witnesses that say Dunbar was not involved in the crime.
Grieco wrote on his Twitter account Sunday night he was “looking forward to clearing (Dunbar’s) name.”
At an 8:30 a.m. bond hearing Sunday, Judge Davis set the terms of Dunbar’s release on bail. They include: no communication with the alleged victims in what Miramar police say were robberies of jewelry and cash at a house party in that city; no access to firearms; and no travel outside of Florida.
The Seahawks are not conducting team activities for the foreseeable future, so there is no apparent NFL requirement for Dunbar to be out of Florida. Team facilities across the league remain closed by the coronavirus pandemic.
It is likely the next team requirement for Dunbar’s presence with the Seahawks will be the start of training camp. That is scheduled to be the final week of July at team headquarters in Renton. But Seattle’s and all NFL team facilities remain closed indefinitely, as Washington and most states continue to keep non-essential businesses closed to contain the COVID-19 virus.
Dunbar and Miami childhood friend DeAndre Baker, a cornerback for the New York Giants, are accused of robbing fellow party-goers at a house in Miramar of expensive watches and thousands of dollars in cash.
Baker faces for additional counts of aggravated assault. He posted $200,000 bail Sunday and was also released from jail pending more court hearings.
Grieco read in court on Sunday what he says are affidavits from the four victims and one witness who gave a Miramar police detective the probable cause for an arrest warrant at the party early Thursday morning. Grieco told the TNT Friday and the judge Sunday that the five witnesses changed the stories they had originally told police at the party scene, and that on the affidavits those witnesses now say Dunbar was not involved.
“There is no physical evidence. There is no corroborating evidence, beyond the initial five statements of these individuals, whatsoever,” Grieco told the judge.
This story was originally published May 18, 2020 at 7:01 AM.
