Nov. 6 (UPI) — Former NFL receiver Antonio Brown was arrested in Dubai and is being extradited to Miami to stand trial for attempted murder following a shooting on May 17.
U.S. Marshals arrested Brown, 37, in Dubai and flew him to Essex County, New Jersey, where he awaits extradition to Miami to stand trial, ESPN reported.
Brown had been in Dubai for several months before his arrest and was abroad when an arrest warrant was issued in June, according to WPLG in Miami.
After learning of the order, Brown hired an attorney who obtained a $10,000 bond that would place him under house arrest, but he did not return to South Florida.
Brown attended a celebrity boxing event in Miami on May 16 that led to an altercation with several people early the next morning after the event ended.
Security personnel intervened and Brown allegedly took a gun from one of them and used it to fire two shots at Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu, ESPN reported.
The gunshots prompted a ShotSpotter alert and police response around 3 a.m. EDT, leading police to take Brown into custody.
They released Brown about four hours after they could not locate the victim. Nantambu later said one of the bullets grazed his neck.
Brown said he was the victim of an attempted robbery, which he said led to a fight and shots fired.
“Several individuals attacked me and attempted to steal my jewelry and cause me physical harm,” Brown later said in a social media post.
“The police temporarily detained me until they received my version of events and then released me,” he said. “I came home that night and they didn’t arrest me.”
Brown is charged with attempted second-degree murder, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Brown is a Miami native who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2010 to 2019, played one game with the New England Patriots in 2019 and spent his final two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before retiring after the 2021 season.
He played in 146 NFL games, during which he caught 928 passes for 12,291 yards and scored 83 touchdowns while averaging 13.2 yards per catch.
He also scored four touchdowns returning punts and another while returning kicks.
Considered by many to be the best active wide receiver in the NFL, Brown helped the Buccaneers win the 2021 Super Bowl.
During the 2011 NFL season, he became the first player to record at least 1,000 receiving yards and at least 1,000 returning yards when returning kicks and punts, according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
He also set the Steelers record with 2,2011 all-purpose yards and was named their Most Valuable Player in 2011.
The Steelers selected Brown out of Central Michigan University in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL draft.
Brown is eligible for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but his off-field issues could exclude him from consideration.