Prosecutors have dropped all charges stemming from an alleged robbery brought against former New York Giants cornerback DeAndre Baker, CBS Miami reports. A lawyer representing three of the alleged robbery victims has also been charged with extortion, according to CBS Miami.
Prosecutors said they were dropping the charges against Baker because witnesses changed their testimony.
Baker and Seattle Seahawks cornerback Quintin Dunbar attended a party in Miramar, Florida, on May 13 where a fight a broke out. Witnesses claimed at the time Baker pulled out a handgun and, along with other men, began robbing other party attendees. He was charged with four counts of robbery with a firearm on August 7.
According to court documents obtained by CBS Miami, three witnesses recanted their previous sworn statements and instead “asserted that they did not get an accurate look at the events as they occurred, that DeAndre Baker was present but not involved in any criminal act, and that they were not robbed or assaulted.”
Attorney William Dean, who represents the three witnesses, allegedly tried to extort Baker by having him pay to recant their testimony. According to sheriff’s investigators, Dean told Baker if he paid each client $226,000 they would either recant their statements or stop cooperating with prosecutors, CBS Miami reported.
Baker, 23, was waived from the New York Giants on September 8, just over a month after the charges were filed against him. Dunbar was also initially accused of being involved in the robbery and pulling a gun, but prosecutors declined to file criminal charges against the 28-year-old, citing insufficient evidence, Broward State Attorney Mike Satz said at the time.
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