Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold has been arrested in connection with an alleged kidnapping and robbery in Tampa, Fla., in February, the Tampa Police Department announced Wednesday night.
Arnold surrendered to authorities at Orient Road Jail in Tampa, and he is scheduled to make his first appearance in Hillsborough County Court on Thursday, the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office said in a statement posted on X. He is facing four counts of kidnapping and four counts of armed robbery.
“Arnold is facing multiple felony charges which carry a potential sentence of up to life in prison,” the statement from the state attorney’s office read.
The State Attorney’s Office will file charges against Detroit Lions player Terrion Arnold following his arrest in connection with a February robbery and kidnapping in Tampa. Arnold is facing multiple felony charges which carry a potential sentence of up to life in prison. pic.twitter.com/VTK5f6LkGe
— Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office (@HillsboroughSAO) June 25, 2026
Police previously arrested six other people involved in the incident, which was part of an alleged effort to lure three people to an apartment in retaliation for alleged thefts at Arnold’s rental home in Largo, Fla. Among those co-defendants was Boakai Eugene Hilton, who prosecutors previously said planned the ambush while with Arnold, the Lions’ 2024 first-round pick.
“Investigators believe, based on evidence gathered, that Arnold was the primary conspirator,” Tampa police wrote in the release announcing Arnold’s arrest Wednesday.
The state attorney’s office said it will file a pretrial motion requesting that Arnold remain jailed until trial, although a date for that hearing has yet to be scheduled.
The Lions released a statement acknowledging “the legal situation regarding Terrion Arnold” but declined to comment “out of respect for the ongoing legal process.”
Denise White, CEO of EAG Sports Management, which represents Arnold, released a statement saying Arnold “categorically denies any involvement” in the incident and “maintains his innocence.”
“There is no credible evidence linking Mr. Arnold to these allegations,” White’s statement read. “Instead, the government appears to be relying on testimony from multiple convicted felons who have admitted their own involvement and may have substantial incentives to shift blame in an effort to lessen their sentences. Mr. Arnold looks forward to his day in court and is confident that the judicial process will lead to his ultimate vindication.”
The six other co-defendants previously charged in the case were Arianna Del Valle, Jasmine Randazzo, Lyndell Hudson II, Christion Williams, Freddie Hughes and Hilton.
Arnold’s name appeared in text exchanges between the co-defendants plotting the robbery and kidnapping, court records reviewed by The Athletic in March showed, but his phone did not send or receive any of the text messages discovered by investigators.
Arnold called a police station at 10 p.m. ET on Feb. 3 to report the theft of $100,000 in cash, an $80,000 necklace and other possessions, the Largo Police Department previously told The Athletic. A few hours later, the alleged robbery and kidnapping of three men in their late teens occurred in Tampa.
Tampa police say that Arnold suspected two of the three victims were responsible for the thefts at his Largo Airbnb, although police later determined they were not involved.
Police allege that Arnold and Hilton directed Del Valle and Randazzo to reach out to one of the victims and lure him to their apartment, where two other co-defendants hid in a bedroom closet. The co-defendants inside the apartment then confronted the victims, who were later found to have visible injuries from “being battered, held at gunpoint, and pistol-whipped before their personal property was stolen and they were ordered to leave,” according to police.
Police say Arnold and Hilton watched a live stream of the assault while driving to the scene and directed the co-defendants inside the apartment via a group chat.
“Investigators found Del Valle streamed the incident to Arnold, Hilton, and Hughes as they were traveling to the apartment. Investigators also found a group chat with all defendants was created, where Arnold and Hilton reportedly gave directions to Del Valle, Williams, and Hudson during the assault,” Tampa police alleged.
Police wrote that at around 1:40 a.m. that night, the three victims were brought out of the residence by the armed suspects and forced to leave, and Arnold drove Del Valle, Williams and another individual away from the scene.
Arnold declined to go into detail on his off-the-field issues when he spoke with reporters last Wednesday at Lions minicamp, saying he just wanted to focus on football. Asked if what happened this offseason led him to change who he hung out with away from the Lions’ facility, Arnold said no.
“I’m a home guy. Hang around my family and stuff like that,” he said. “But I mean, as far as stuff like that, I just feel like, kinda, when certain things happen in life, it’s best to, like, remain silent. I mean, you speak on stuff if you wanna speak on it, but I mean, at the end of the day, like, silence is sometimes the best answer.”
Arnold went on to say that he’s comfortable with who’s in his inner circle. “I mean, I got my granddad, I got God, I got my family,” he said.
A Florida native, Arnold played high school football at Florida State University School in Tallahassee. After he starred at Alabama, the Lions selected him with the 24th pick of the 2024 draft. He went on to start 15 games during his rookie season as the Lions won the NFC North Division title. But injuries, including a shoulder injury that required season-ending surgery, limited him to eight games last season, and he talked about facing the prospect of having to compete for a starting spot in training camp this summer.
“I feel like … competition breeds excellence,” Arnold said. “… (The front office’s) job is to go out there and find guys to come into the room to push the guys, and when you go out there and you have environments like that, that’s environments that I thrive in. … That’s what the NFL is all about. So, I mean, if you don’t have that or you don’t have coaches who are going out there trying to find guys to replace you, to push you, then it’s not going to get the best out of you.”