Two National Football League (NFL) players are wanted by Florida police on charges of armed robbery.
22 year old Deandre Baker, who plays for the New York Giants, and 27 year old Quinton Dunbar, who represents the Seattle Seahawks, are both wanted by Florida police in connection with charges of armed robbery with a firearm, and Baker faces further charges of aggravated assault.
According to the arrest warrants issued, the pair were at a party on Wednesday in the city of Miramar, near to Miami and Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday, were people were playing cards and video games.
After an altercation with one of the card players, Baker produced a gun and another man, who was described simply as wearing a red mask, started taking cash and valuables from the other guests, including expensive watches.
Separate reports suggest that the pair had been at another party in Miami earlier that week, in the course of which they lost some US $70,000 gambling, and that many of the same people were present at both events.
Another witness reported that the two men then fled the scene in three cars a BMW, Mercedes Benz and Lamborghini and that the getaway appears to have been planned in advance.
Neither man been arrested as yet, and Dunbars lawyer has produced signed statements from witnesses, claiming that his client was not involved in the robbery. Despite this Florida police are still looking to bring him in for questioning.
Neither the Giants nor the Sea Hawks have formally commented on the matter, insisting that they are still gathering information, as is the NFL themselves.
Both men play as cornerbacks for their teams, with Bakers four year contract worth US $10.52 million to him, with just over U$ $9 million guaranteed. However, he stands to lose a portion of that, even if found innocent, because his contract contains a clause allowing the Giants to claw back some of that for conduct unbecoming.
Dunbar is in the final year of his contract with the Seahawks that is worth US $3.2 million a year, plus bonuses.
Armed robbery in Florida is deemed a first degree felony and carries a maximum prison sentence of 30 years for those found guilty.
