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Ralph Vacchiano | Facebook | Twitter | Archive

DeAndre Baker is in a lot of trouble and is facing an uncertain future, to say the least. His NFL career is obviously hanging by a thread. His freedom is in serious jeopardy, too.

The announcement by the Miramar (Fla.) Police Department on Thursday that they had issued an arrest warrant for the Giants cornerback was just the beginning of what could be a long and painful process for the 22-year-old former first-round pick.

Here, with the help of some legal and NFL sources, is a look at what Baker is facing and what comes next:

 

 

What are the charges?

 Baker, according to the arrest warrant issued on Thursday night, is going to be charged with four counts of armed robbery and four counts of aggravated assault with a firearm. With the help of Seattle Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar and an unnamed, masked accomplice, Baker is accused of robbing four men of a total of $12,400 in cash and $61,000 worth of watches. The warrant said he used a semi-automatic weapon in the robberies. One witness said he also told the unnamed accomplice to shoot the victims (though the warrant does not mention any shots being fired or any injuries to the victims).

What is the legal penalty?

According to Florida’s “10-20-Life” law, each count of armed robbery carries a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, but that is escalated to 15 years if a “semi-automatic weapon” is involved, which is alleged here. So that would be a minimum of 60 years just on those counts. The counts of aggravated assault with a firearm has no mandatory minimum, just a maximum sentence of five years in prison per count.

So if he’s guilty, he’s going to jail for a long time then? Not necessarily. One Florida-based attorney told SNY that a prosecutor has the ability to waive the mandatory minimum and seek a lesser sentence. There is, of course, always the possibility of pleading down to a lesser charge.

When he turns himself in, will he be released on bail?

Not necessarily, but probably — eventually. All eight counts are listed on the warrant as “no bond hold,” which means Baker can’t simply show up, pay his bail, and head back to the Giants’ virtual offseason program. When he is arrested, he will be held by the Miramar Police Department until he can appear before Circuit County Court Judge Carlos Rebollo, the Broward County judge who signed the arrest warrant. Judge Rebollo will then hold a bond hearing and set bail, if he chooses. It’s not clear, though, when that hearing will take place and if there will be any delay related to the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Why hasn’t he turned himself in yet?

Good question, and of course he should have done so already. According to a Miramar Police Department spokesman, they have been in touch with his lawyer. One source said there was an expectation that Baker would turn himself in on Friday. One legal source said the lawyer is likely negotiating the terms of Baker turning himself in – everything from doing it quietly, away from the media, and an expedited bail hearing, if possible.

In the meantime, what are the Giants going to do with him? Probably nothing at the moment. So far they are following the standard playbook for dealing with arrests. They issued a statement that said nothing and then they closed ranks. If they continue to follow that, they will wait for the legal process to play itself out and let the NFL take the lead on any investigation and discipline. There may come a point when they’ll have to decide whether to keep him or cut him, but that’s likely a long ways away.

Would they cut him?

Maybe eventually, especially if the details get out and are even uglier than what is known so far. Obviously, the Giants don’t want to dump a talented young player, especially a year after they traded into the first round to draft him. But they might eventually feel they have no choice. It just probably won’t happen until the legal system runs its course and the NFL takes the initial shot at discipline.

What are the cap ramifications of cutting him?

Baker is entering the second year of a $10.5 million rookie contract. He already got a $5.67 million signing bonus and he’s due $973,442 in salary this season, all of which is guaranteed. At minimum, cutting Baker would cost the Giants an extra $2.3 million against the cap this season, and he’d leave a lot of dead money on their books over the next two years. However, they’d likely try to negotiate all that down and possibly try to recoup some of his signing bonus.

Video: FNNY: Breaking down Baker, what to do with DeAndre?

What is the NFL going to do?

At the very least, it seems certain that the NFL will place Baker on the “Commissioner’s exempt list,” which is basically paid leave and it’s used to prevent players accused of violent crimes from being active while their cases are pending. It also conveniently takes such decisions out of teams’ hands. Baker eventually would be subject to discipline under the NFL’s Personal Conduct policy, even if he pleads down to a lesser charge or if charges are dropped. Under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, that would be decided by a neutral third party jointly appointed by the NFL and NFL Players Association. Commissioner Roger Goodell is no longer the judge and jury for that.

Has Baker said anything yet?

No. Multiple calls to his agent were not returned to SNY either. And it’s not clear at this point which lawyer is representing him. You can bet that lawyer will issue some kind of statement after Baker’s arrest.

Have the Giants said anything yet?

Just a bland statement through their PR department that said “We are aware of the situation. We have been in contact with DeAndre. We have no further comment at this time.”

Should they say anything more?

They are probably right not to say anything now, since we likely don’t have anywhere near all the facts yet. But eventually, yes, they need to say something. And they all do – John Mara, Dave Gettleman and Joe Judge.

Hopefully they learned something from how they mishandled the Josh Brown affair – when they re-signed their kicker despite a domestic violence arrest, only to cut him once the media unearthed all the sordid details. They let Ben McAdoo, their young coach, take the lead publicly and he ended up praising Brown’s character though he clearly didn’t know all the details of what happened. Then, when the details came out, Mara and then-GM Jerry Reese refused to say anything for more than a week.

Now’s not the time, but they can’t wait forever. If they decide to stand by a player who is accused of using a gun to rob people and ordering the victims to be shot, they owe it to everyone to explain why. Hiding behind statements will make them look terrible, again.

The bottom line

Will Baker ever play for the Giants again? It’s hard to predict, and he is of course innocent until proven guilty. But if the accusations in that warrant hold up – and there are multiple witnesses, including someone who has known Baker since he was a child – it’s hard to imagine that he will, even if he escapes jail time. Sports teams are often tolerant of criminal behavior – especially for players with talent — and the Giants have been no exception over the years. It’s certainly possible that, if he’s granted his freedom, they’d welcome him back and sell it as a chance for redemption. But you’d have to think that some of these allegations cross a line they just won’t want to cross, even for a player with Baker’s potential.

FBI wiretaps intercepted telephone conversations between Arizona coach Sean Miller and Christian Dawkins, a key figure in the FBI’s investigation into college basketball corruption, in which Miller discussed paying $100,000 to ensure star freshman Deandre Ayton signed with the Wildcats, sources familiar with the government’s evidence told ESPN.

According to people with knowledge of the FBI investigation, Miller and Dawkins, a runner working for ASM Sports agent Andy Miller, had multiple conversations about Ayton. When Dawkins asked Miller if he should work with assistant coach Emanuel “Book” Richardson to finalize their agreement, Miller told Dawkins he should deal directly with him when it came to money, the sources said.

The telephone calls between Miller and Dawkins were among 3,000 hours of conversations intercepted from Dawkins’ phone by the FBI.

Ayton, a 7-foot-1 center who was born in the Bahamas, is considered one of the top freshmen in the country and a leading candidate for national player of the year honors. He is averaging 19.6 points and 10.9 rebounds in what is expected to be his only college season, helping the No. 14 Wildcats take a 1½-game lead in the Pac-12 standings with three regular-season games to play.

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  Players at basketball powers such as Duke, UNC, Kentucky, Michigan State and Kansas may have committed NCAA violations that were uncovered by an FBI investigation, according to Yahoo! Sports.

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  A comprehensive breakdown of the teams, players, coaches and others implicated in the scandal engulfing college basketball.

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  Texas guard Eric Davis Jr. and San Diego State forward Malik Pope will not play while their schools investigate allegations they each took money from ASM Sports.

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ESPN analyst Jonathan Givony, in his latest mock selections, projects Ayton as the No. 2 prospect available for this year’s NBA draft.

Richardson, who worked for Miller the previous 10 seasons at Xavier and Arizona, was one of four assistant coaches arrested by FBI agents on Sept. 27, following a two-year investigation into bribes and other corruption in the sport.

Richardson is accused of accepting $20,000 in bribes and paying a recruit to sign with the Wildcats. In exchange for the money, the government alleges, Richardson agreed to influence Arizona players to sign with Dawkins and financial adviser Munish Sood, who also was arrested by FBI agents. Arizona formally fired Richardson on Jan. 11.

Richardson is charged with six felonies: conspiracy to commit bribery, solicitation of bribes by an agent of a federally funded organization, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, mail fraud conspiracy and travel act conspiracy. He has pleaded not guilty and faces up to 60 years in prison and $1.5 million in fines.

Oklahoma State’s Lamont Evans, Auburn’s Chuck Person and USC’s Tony Bland were the other assistant coaches charged in the cases, along with Adidas executives James Gatto and Merl Code and former NBA referee Rashan Michel.

Dawkins, a former AAU director from Saginaw, Michigan, was charged with wire fraud in September after the government accused him of funneling money from Adidas to the families of high-profile recruits. Last week, a federal judge in New York declined to dismiss criminal indictments against Dawkins, Gatto and Code.

On Friday, Yahoo! Sports reported that players from more than 20 Division I men’s basketball programs have been identified as possibly breaking NCAA rules through violations that were uncovered by the FBI’s investigation into corruption in the sport.

Schools identified by Yahoo! as having players who possibly violated NCAA rules include Duke, North Carolina, Texas, Kentucky, Michigan State, USC and Kansas. At least 25 players are linked to impermissible benefits, including Michigan State’s Miles Bridges, Alabama’s Collin Sexton and Duke’s Wendell Carter.

The documents detailed the work of Andy Miller and his agency. Yahoo! reported that the documents — which include paperwork from 2015 through 2017 — show cash advances as well as entertainment and travel expenses paid for college prospects and their families. They did not mention Sean Miller or Ayton.

Ayton moved from the Bahamas to San Diego, where he played two seasons of high school basketball. As a junior in 2015, he transferred to Hillcrest Prep Academy in Phoenix, where he played with current Duke freshman Marvin Bagley III. Ayton was ranked the No. 3 player in the 2017 ESPN 100, behind Bagley and current Missouri freshman Michael Porter Jr.

Ayton committed to Arizona on Sept. 3, 2016, after also considering scholarship offers from Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland and San Diego State. When Ayton signed with the Wildcats, Miller described him as “one of these once-in-a-generation types of players” because of his size and shooting ability.

After Richardson was arrested in late September, Arizona president Robert C. Robbins announced that the university had hired two law firms to conduct independent investigations into the matter.

Asked for a comment, Arizona reiterated statements issued by school athletic director Dave Heeke and Miller in October when the investigations were announced.

At the time the investigations were announced, Robbins said in a statement, “Head coach Sean Miller has not been charged with — nor accused of — any misconduct and he has been fully cooperative and supportive of our efforts to determine the facts in pursuit of the truth. … Based on the facts that we know at this time, we support Coach Miller and intend to provide him with all of the tools necessary to meet our goals and expectations.”

Milwaukee Bucks guard Jason Terry, who played at Arizona under coach Lute Olson from 1995 to ’99, tweeted that it’s time to for the Wildcats to “clean house.”

@APlayersProgram BearDown it’s time to clean house and bring home our own bloodlines to carry on Lutes Legacy. We have too much pride, too much tradition to allow outsiders to tear down what we built.

— Jason Terry (@jasonterry31) February 24, 2018

Miller, 49, is a three-time Pac-12 Conference Coach of the Year and has a 242-72 record in his ninth season with the Wildcats. The Arizona Board of Regents approved a contact extension for him in February 2017, which increased his annual salary to at least $2.9 million through 2022. He has denied knowledge of Richardson’s alleged scheme to bribe players to sign with Arizona.

“As the head basketball coach at the University of Arizona, I recognize my responsibility is not only to establish a culture of success on the basketball court and in the classroom, but as important, to promote and reinforce a culture of compliance,” Miller said in a statement released in September. “To the best of my ability, I have worked to demonstrate this over the past eight years and will continue to do so as we move forward.”

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LOS GATOS — The domestic-violence arrest of San Francisco 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster stemmed from his girlfriend’s accusation that he physically dragged her during an argument at a Los Gatos home Sunday morning, according to sources familiar with the investigation.

The reported victim, who has been in a relationship with Foster for several years, also told police dispatchers during a 911 call that he owned multiple semiautomatic rifles, according to an archived recording. Officers ended up recovering one firearm, a SIG Sauer 516 short-barreled rifle, sources said.

The encounter left the woman injured, sources said, but the extent of her injuries was not disclosed.

Altogether, the allegations were the basis of Foster getting booked at the Santa Clara County Main Jail on suspicion of domestic violence, making criminal threats, and possessing an assault weapon. He was released Sunday evening after posting $75,000 bail.

Foster’s agent did not immediately return a message seeking comment to the accusations. Foster has not commented since the arrest, including on his frequently-used social-media channels.

On Monday, Foster visited the 49ers training facility in Santa Clara to meet with team officials, according to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network. Sunday evening, the 49ers sent out a statement acknowledging Foster’s arrest and that it is “gathering all pertinent information” in the case. The NFL is also conducting an investigation of the case to determine any potential suspensions and penalties from the league.

In 2014, amid criticism of its handling of the infamous Ray Rice case, the NFL gave Commissioner Roger Goodell authority to give players a minimum six-game suspension for domestic violence allegations, even without a conviction. That was exercised with star Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott this past season.

Because Foster is free on bail, he will not likely be charged or arraigned within the typical 72-hour window for jailed suspects. On Monday, Los Gatos-Monte Sereno police forwarded their investigation to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office for review.

Prosecutors will have up to 30 days to decide on whether to file charges against Foster. All three offenses for which he was arrested are known as “wobblers,” meaning that if they are charged, they can be filed as either misdemeanors or felonies based on the discretion of the District Attorney’s Office or a Superior Court judge.

The criminal threats allegation, if charged as a felony, would count as a strike under the state’s “Three Strikes” law.

“The severity of the crime, any injuries, and prior criminal history factor into whether a charge gets reduced to a misdemeanor,” said Steven Clark, a legal analyst and former Santa Clara County prosecutor.

Clark added that it’s also not a certainty that prosecutors will file charges based on the initial investigation.

“The DA may ask for more information, such as whether there is a previous history of domestic violence, or if alcohol and drugs were involved,” he said.

A statement from Los Gatos-Monte Sereno police says officers were dispatched around 9:15 a.m. Sunday to a home on Shannon Road for a welfare check and to respond to a possible disturbance. Foster was eventually arrested without incident.

Police did not release any additional details, but sources familiar with the investigation say the victim told officers that she and Foster were arguing and that he threw her belongings onto a front walkway and balcony. At some point, she said he physically dragged her in an apparent attempt to remove her from the home, sources said.

According to an archived police dispatch radio recording of the 911 call, “the RP (reporting party) advises there should be at least two AR-15 weapons in the house.”

Both that statement and the domestic-violence allegation would provide cause for police to search for and remove any firearms from the home. It was apparently during that search that officers found the allegedly illegal rifle.

The weapons allegation against Foster evoked memories of the 49ers’ experience with former star linebacker Aldon Smith, who was given probation after being convicted of possessing three illegal assault rifles after gunfire erupted at his home in the San Jose hills in 2012.

Like in that case, the weapons allegation could take some time for prosecutors to sort out. For starters, the legality of possessing the SIG Sauer 516 short-barreled rifle will likely be debated between them and Foster’s legal defense.

The 516 does not appear on the list of illegal AR-15 variants at the California Department of Justice website, perhaps because it’s a recent release — the list hasn’t been updated in more than a decade; the 516 has been produced since 2010. State law also includes generic characteristics that make a gun illegal, such as whether it has the capacity to accept a detachable ammunition magazine, and at least one of a list of military-style characteristics like “a pistol grip that protrudes conspicuously beneath the action of the weapon” and a flash suppressor.

“It can sometimes be difficult to determine when you’re in possession of an illegal weapon, and these characteristics are difficult to know,” Clark said. “You have to find out if it was properly stored, was there ammunition inside of it. Was it just sitting inside a closet or was it being used? How did he obtain it?”