Former NFL star Antonio Brown has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder as he prepares to face trial on charges stemming from a shooting in Miami earlier this year.
Brown, who was arrested in Dubai last week and extradited to New Jersey, was released from the Essex County Jail late Tuesday morning and transferred to south Florida. He arrived in Miami Tuesday afternoon and was quickly booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
Brown’s lawyer, Mark Eiglarsh, said he’d filed a written not guilty plea prior to the former All-Pro wide receiver touching down in the Sunshine State. He told The Associated Press that Brown could be in court for a bond hearing as soon as Wednesday morning.
Brown is accused of grabbing a security guard’s handgun following a celebrity boxing event on May 16 and firing two shots at a man he’d gotten into a fistfight with earlier that night. The victim, Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu, told investigators that one of the bullets grazed his neck.
“The actions he was forced to take were solely in self-defense against the alleged victim’s violent behavior,” Eiglarsh said. “Brown was attacked that night and acted within his legal right to protect himself.”
In a social media post the day after the shooting, Brown claimed he was jumped by people trying to steal his jewelry. He said he’d been “temporarily detained” and questioned by Miami police, but had not been arrested.
A warrant for his arrest was later issued in June, at which point it appeared that he’d already fled to Dubai while allegedly attempting to evade U.S. law enforcement. During his time on the run, Miami police said he posted social media videos from Dubai.
“He was kind of taunting us, saying, I’m safe here, and that’s what we interpreted from those videos, but you know what, he was laughing then, we’re getting the last laugh,” a Miami police spokesperson told WTVJ. “No matter who you are, what power or what money you have, if you commit a crime in the city of Miami, we’re going to identify and locate you and bring you to justice.”
If convicted of second-degree attempted murder, Brown faces up to 15 years in prison and fines of up to $10,000.
Brown played 12 seasons in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers, New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He last played in 2022 when he took off his jersey and shoulder pads and walked off the field in the middle of a game versus the New York Jets, leading the Bucs to release him.
Brown has previously been accused of battery of a moving truck driver, domestic violence, failure to pay child support and other crimes.
