NFL football player Greg Robinson allegedly had nearly 157 pounds of marijuana when stopped at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint east of El Paso near Sierra Blanca, Texas.
Robinson, a free-agent offensive tackle who had played for the Cleveland Browns, and Jaquan Tyreke Bray, 26, were arrested Monday night while traveling from Los Angeles to Louisiana with an unidentified passenger, who was an Uber driver who ran errands for Robinson, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas said.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration arrested Robinson and Bray on federal charges of drug conspiracy and possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute.
Jail records show Robinson, of Thibodaux, Louisiana, and Bray, of Lagrange, Georgia, have been held without bond since Tuesday at the El Paso County Jail in Downtown.
Robinson’s arrest was first reported by TMZ.
According to a criminal complaint filed by a DEA agent, Robinson allegedly tried to have the third passenger, who was not charged, take the fall for the marijuana.
Sierra Blanca checkpoint bust
The Border Patrol’s Sierra Blanca immigration checkpoint on Interstate 10 east of El Paso has been the site of several celebrity marijuana busts.
At 7:15 p.m. Monday, a black 2020 Chevrolet Tahoe driven by Bray arrived at the checkpoint, where a drug-sniffing dog alerted agents to the vehicle, the complaint stated.
GLENDALE, ARIZONA – DECEMBER 15: Offensive tackle Greg Robinson #78 of the Cleveland Browns on the bench during the second half of the NFL game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium on December 15, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona. The Cardinals defeated the Browns 38-24. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Border Patrol agents found multiple vacuum-sealed bags of marijuana inside several duffel bags in the SUV’s cargo area, the document stated.
According to the complaint, agents also found 23 mason jars in one bag, an electric can-sealer machine weighing about 90 pounds, an electronic scale and about $3,100 in cash in jeans belonging to Bray.
Robinson, Bray and the passenger were detained but the Uber driver was not charged.
DEA agents later arrived at the checkpoint to interview the three occupants. Robinson and Bray invoked their right to a lawyer and declined to talk.
The person hired to drive Robinson from Los Angeles to Louisiana told the DEA that said he/she would have never driven Robinson if he/she knew there were drugs in the vehicle, the complaint document stated.
Ride from L.A. to Louisiana
The third person told DEA agents about meeting Robinson as an Uber driver in Louisiana in 2018, the complaint stated. The driver was then hired to run errands and give rides to Robinson’s friends and family.
Robinson hired the person to fly to Los Angeles and drive Robinson and Bray to Louisiana in a rented Chevrolet Tahoe.
During the road trip, the driver told DEA agents that Robinson and Bray became nervous at one point when police car on a median turned on its emergency lights and pulled over a nearby vehicle.
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Nearing El Paso, Robinson said the driver looked tired and Robinson told Bray to drive, according to the driver’s account in the complaint.
The driver told agents that Robinson and Bray got very nervous while approaching the Border Patrol checkpoint.
“There’s a lot of marijuana, can you take it?” Robinson allegedly told the driver offering to pay the person, according to an account told the DEA in the complaint document.
The driver is a legal immigrant and told Robinson that he/she would never had driven knowing there were drugs in the vehicle.
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While in custody, Robinson’s and Bray’s cellphones received various calls and text messages, the DEA noted in the complaint.
“On the front screen, in plain view, (DEA agents) observed three text messages on Robinson’s phone from a contact listed as ‘Grow House Indoor,'” the complaint stated.
The complaint added that agents found a car rental agreement for the Tahoe, which Robinson picked-up Sunday in Los Angeles and was supposed to be dropped-off Wednesday in Kenner, Louisiana.
Robinson is a former standout from Auburn University drafted second overall in 2014, by the St. Louis Rams. He signed with the Cleveland Browns in 2018.
The Associated Press reported that the Browns recently informed Robinson’s representatives they did not intend to re-sign him as a free agent. Robinson battled inconsistency while starting 14 games last season for the Browns, who had a disappointing 6-10 season. He was benched for one game and missed another with a concussion.
If convicted, Robinson and Bray face up to 20 years in federal prison.
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