Former Ohio State Buckeyes superstar cornerback Damon Arnette was a first-round pick by the Las Vegas Raiders in the 2020 NFL Draft, but his career has been derailed by off-the-field legal issues, and it looks like he’s facing another one.
According to a report from NFL insider Ian Rapoport, Damon Arnette was arrested last month and was charged with meth possession and unlawful carrying of a firearm.
“A cautionary tale: Ex-#Raiders first-round pick CB Damon Arnette was arrested on Jan. 6 at 3:30 am and charged with possession of less than a gram of meth and unlawful carrying of a firearm, per me and @HollowayNFLN. The previously unreported arrest was in Richardson, TX,” Rapoport said in a post on X, the social media website that was formerly known as Twitter.
From the legal counsel for Damon Arnette comes an explanation: https://t.co/MJtiGBiMXc pic.twitter.com/wd3fi8mhqi
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) February 27, 2024
Arnette’s attorneys quickly released a statement claiming that Arnette was in possession of “lawful medication” that he was prescribed and should not have been arrested for either the substances or the firearm.
“Legal counsel for Mr. Arnette, stated that the recent report that he was arrested for possession of methamphetamines and firearms is simply incorrect. Our client, at the time of the stop, was unable to provide law enforcement with his prescription for a lawful medication. The arrest was predicated on Mr. Arnette being unable to prove the medication was prescribed, had he been able to do so at the time of the stop, there would have been no arrest for either the controlled substance or the firearms. Our offices are working with the local law enforcement to rectify this matter before any charges are brought by the District Attorney’s Office,” his legal team said in a statement to Rapoport.
Even if these charges are dropped, however, this is far from Arnette’s only run-in with the law in recent years. Arnette was released by the Raiders on Nov. 8, 2021 after video surfaced showing him brandishing firearms and making death threats. Just a few months later, Arnette was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon, carrying a concealed weapon without a permit and two counts of possession of controlled substances on Jan. 29, 2022.
Regardless of how this charge plays out, it’s safe to say that his career has not gone the way he had hoped.
