Damon Arnette: Disturbing details emerge from recent arrest of former Ohio State star
Damon Arnette was arrested last Friday in Las Vegas and new disturbing details have emerged about the incident involving the Raiders’ former first-round pick.
According to the release of a report by the Metropolitan Police Department on Wednesday, Arnette was booked on two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, carrying or concealing a gun without a permit, possession of marijuana and possession of a class two level controlled substance after an incident at the Park MGM.
Per the report, via Sabrina Schnur of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Arnette is accused of pointing his gun at valets who didn’t give him his car.
Pro Football Talk reported that Damon Arnett threw his ticket away and refused to show identification when asked and, per the report, video shows Arnette pointing a handgun at employees before getting in the vehicle. Arnette denied pulling the gun, but one was found in the car along with ammunition, 1.8 grams of suspected cocaine, and 13.5 ounces of marijuana
The former Ohio State star was released by the Las Vegas Raiders earlier this season after a video surfaced of him waving a gun around and apparently threatening a fan. The Kansas City Chiefs recently signed Arnette to a futures contract but cut him after last week’s arrest.
Arnette struggled with off-field issues since joining NFL
Damon Arnette has struggled with off-the-field issues since joining the Las Vegas Raiders out of college, according to a report.
“There were troubling off-the-field signs everywhere for Raiders first-rounder Damon Arnette,” NFL Network’s Ian Rappaport tweeted. “For instance: In his first year in the NFL, Arnette crashed four rental cars within roughly a month, sources said. Now, after a tumultuous weekend including online threats, he’s out.”
On Monday, the Las Vegas Raiders waived the second-year cornerback a first-round pick in 2020, after video surfaced this weekend of Arnette making death threats while brandishing a firearm.
Arnette, 25, had been on injured reserve since Oct. 9. He is also facing lawsuits stemming from a Las Vegas car accident last October.
Former Raiders GM Mike Mayock on Damon Arnette
The Las Vegas Raiders had one of the most trying seasons of any NFL franchise in the history of the league.
At the time of his release, former Raiders’ general manager Mike Mayock commented on parting ways with Damon Arnette.
“Very painful decision,” Mayock said in a conference call. “We spent significant time, effort and resources trying to help him in all aspects of his life.”
It’s clear by Mayock’s statement the Las Vegas Raiders brass had an indication of Arnette’s various issues that all came to a head after this weekend’s video surfaced.
“There have been a series of bad decisions over the last year or so, but we can’t stand, we cannot stand for the video of Damon with a gun, threatening to take a life,” Mayock said of releasing Damon Arnette. “The content was unacceptable, contrary to our values and our owner Mark Davis has been very clear and very consistent that this is not how we will conduct ourselves in this community. The bottom line — the Raiders will not tolerate this type of behavior.”
Arnette was the No. 19 selection out of Ohio State in the 2020 NFL Draft, and many viewed the pick as a surprise at the time. He played in just 13 games, with seven starts, since the start of last season and had three total passes defended and 29 tackles, 23 solo.
Mayock acknowledged there was “significant concern” over Arnette’s character coming out of college, but the Raiders felt they could help him on and off the field and knew the Ohio State coaching staff well enough to trust its advice and take on Damon Arnette.