New York Giants cornerback and former University of Georgia football standout Deandre Baker has turned himself in to a Florida jail on robbery charges, police confirmed Saturday.
Warrants were issued for the 22-year-old’s arrest Thursday in connection with an armed robbery that occurred at a party in Miramar, Florida, the night before, AJC.com previously reported.
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The football player faces eight felony charges in connection with the incident, including four counts of armed robbery and four counts of aggravated assault, according to police.
Four people at the party told investigators they were robbed of about $70,000, and they accused Baker, fellow NFL player Quinton Dunbar and a third unidentified man of committing the crime, authorities said.
A spokeswoman for Miramar police said Baker turned himself in to the Broward County jail shortly before 10 a.m. Dunbar, who is also charged in connection with the incident, turned himself in on Saturday afternoon, she said.
During the party, an argument broke out at a table where several people were playing cards, leading to Baker and an unidentified man wearing a red mask standing up and pulling out handguns, arrest warrants allege.
The two, along with Dunbar, then allegedly robbed four men of their luxury watches and cash before driving away in separate cars. Dunbar, who plays cornerback for the Seattle Seahawks and was a wide receiver at the University of Florida, was not armed, according to the victims and witnesses.
In total, the trio are accused of stealing $12,400 in cash and Rolex, Hublot, Audemars Piguet and knockoff Richard Mille watches, worth a total of $61,100, the warrants said.
The victims speculated that the robbery was planned, since the three suspects’ vehicles — a Mercedes-Benz, Lamborghini and a BMW — were pre-positioned in a way to be able to quickly leave, the warrants said.
Baker, who is originally from Miami, played at UGA from 2015 to 2018. The Thorpe Award winner made headlines his senior year when he decided to skip the Sugar Bowl.
In an Instagram post, his attorney Bradford Cohen confirmed his client was behind bars, but urged fans not to rush to judgment.
“I am a believer in the system and that if everything works the matter will be appropriately resolved,” he wrote.
MORE: 'People rush to judgement': Deandre Baker's attorney denies armed robbery accusation
He also said the Giants cornerback maintains his innocence.
“We understand that the officers can only base warrants on what was told to them at the time,” Cohen said in a statement. “We have had affidavits from several witnesses that also dispute the allegations and exculpate our client ... We would have rather presented them to the court at the proper time, rather than in the media, but in this day and age, people rush to judgement. Where some seek publicity, we seek justice.”
In a separate statement released Saturday afternoon, Dunbar’s attorney Michael Grieco called the arrest warrants “bogus,” saying they were based entirely on uncorroborated witness statements.
“As I write this an innocent man sits in jail, facing charges that hold no water,” he said on Twitter.
Both Baker and Dunbar remain held at the Broward County Jail without bond, online records show.
— Please return to AJC.com for updates.
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