Attorneys for Seattle Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar and New York Giants cornerback DeAndre Baker said Friday that they have affidavits from witnesses that show their clients are innocent of charges from an alleged armed robbery that took place in Miramar, Florida, on Wednesday.
Michael Grieco, who represents Dunbar, told ESPN he has "five sworn affidavits from witnesses" that say his client was not involved in the alleged incident. A day earlier, the Miramar Police Department issued arrest warrants for both Dunbar and Baker, along with a 14-page affidavit detailing the alleged crimes that the two NFL players were accused of committing.
In an Instagram post on Friday night, Bradford Cohen, who represents Baker, wrote that he had affidavits "from several witnesses that also dispute the allegations and exculpate our client."
Grieco said he provided this information on the "star witnesses recanting within 48 hours" to the Miramar Police Department and advised the state attorney's office, but authorities insisted Dunbar still turn himself in on the warrant.
Police said Friday that the arrest warrants still stand, none of the victims or witnesses has recanted a story to them and neither player has turned himself in.
"We have taped, sworn statements from four victims and one witness. If they are changing their statements, we welcome them to come into our police department and give us a new statement," Miramar Police spokeswoman Tania Rues told ESPN's Brady Henderson.
Grieco said he is 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 but did note that the two players aren't tight, despite being South Florida natives who know each other, citing a five-year age difference.
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.
Cohen said Miramar Police could base the warrants only on what they were told, but he looks forward to watching the case unfold.
"We would have rather presented [the affidavits] to the court at the proper time, rather than in the media, but in this day and age, people rush to judgement," Cohen wrote. "Where some seek publicity, we seek justice. I look forward to moving this case forward to proper conclusion, as we believe our client is innocent of any charges."
The alleged incident took place late Wednesday night at a party. 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 cited this as an example of unreliable witnesses, and he said 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 refuted Grieco's contention that the department sensationalized the story with the way it announced the arrest warrants.
"Our police department did not do a press conference, we have not gone on camera even though I've gotten dozens and dozens of requests for interviews -- we denied every single interview -- we have not gone on radio, we have not given a single interview on radio. We put out a tweet in response to the bombardment of phone calls that we received for public records requests from the warrant and the affidavit," Rues said.
Rues said Grieco's actions were appalling and "just a distraction to what's really going on."
Rues said there is no standard amount of time during which an individual is expected to turn himself or herself in once a warrant for an arrest is issued. It's on a case-by-case basis.
The NFL said Thursday night it is aware of the matter and would have no further comment. 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. 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 on Thursday.
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."
Information from ESPN's Jordan Raanan was used in this report.