Detroit Lions starting cornerback Terrion Arnold has been arrested and is accused of being the ringleader in an armed robbery and kidnapping in Tampa, and the Hillsbourgh County state attorney plans to charge him with multiple felonies.
Three men in their late teens were held at gunpoint, battered, pistol-whipped and robbed in Tampa on Feb. 4, and the 23-year-old Arnold was the “primary conspirator,” the Tampa Police Department said in a statement Wednesday.
Arnold surrendered to authorities at the Orient Road jail on Wednesday and was slated to appear in Hillsborough County court Thursday afternoon.
On social media, Hillsborough State Attorney Suzy Lopez posted that her office will charge Arnold with “multiple felony charges which carry a potential sentence of up to life in prison.”
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office arrest records show he faces four counts of a weapon-related charge and four charges related to kidnapping, harming or terrorizing.
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
Six other suspects were arrested. Two of them pleaded guilty and the others are being held without bond, prosecutors said.
The Lions declined to comment on Arnold’s arrest Wednesday night. Arnold, a Tallahassee native, was a first-round pick in the 2024 draft after playing at the University of Alabama.
Arnold denies being involved, according to Denise White, the CEO of EAG Sports Management agency that represents him.
“There is no credible evidence linking Mr. Arnold to these allegations,” White said in a statement. “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.”
Arnold and some friends reported in February that more than $250,000 worth of their property had been stolen from an Airbnb in Largo, police said. Arnold told authorities two teens were behind the robbery but investigators determined this was not the case, police said.
According to Lopez, Arnold orchestrated the kidnapping and robbery, apparently in retaliation, just hours after reporting the burglary.
The teens told police that Arnold's friends lured them to an apartment, held them at gunpoint and hit them, all the while streaming the attack to Arnold. Arnold later arrived at the apartment, and his friends stole some of the teens' belongings, police said
“No one has the right to take the law into their own hands,” Lopez said in a statement. “A dispute over missing property does not justify kidnapping, violence, or retaliation.”
