Arrest warrant issued for Giants CB DeAndre Baker in alleged armed robbery
Giants cornerback Deandre Baker warms up prior to the start of a preseason game against the Jets at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Thursday. Credit: Daniel De Mato
Police in Miramar, Florida, issued an arrest warrant for Giants cornerback DeAndre Baker on Thursday, charging him with four counts of armed robbery with a firearm and four counts of aggravated assault with a firearm in an incident that took place late Wednesday night.
Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar was also wanted on four counts of armed robbery with a firearm from the same incident.
According to the affidavit to arrest filed in Broward County, Baker, 22, took money and watches from four unnamed victims at a party while pointing a semi-automatic weapon at them after an argument that stemmed from a card game. At one point, the affidavit says, Baker directed another masked assailant to shoot someone who had just walked into the party. Dunbar was said to be assisting others in collecting the money and watches at Baker’s direction.
One victim told police he had met Baker and Dunbar at a different party earlier in the week and the two NFL players had lost about $70,000 in a card game then. Two victims also said that vehicles the players and their group arrived in on Wednesday, including a Mercedes-Benz, Lamborgini and a BMW, were pre-positioned outside the house in Miramar “to expedite an immediate departure from the area.”
Baker was a first-round pick by the Giants last spring. They traded up to select the cornerback from Georgia with the 32nd overall pick. He played in all 16 games with 15 starts for the Giants in 2019 and was expected to be one of their starting cornerbacks for the 2020 season.
The Giants said on Thursday evening that they were aware of the situation and had been in contact with Baker, but had no other comment.
The NFL also declined comment on the matter, though it certainly will be paying close attention. Regardless of the legal outcome, the charges would fall under the league’s Personal Conduct Policy. In the new CBA approved earlier this year, initial disciplinary rulings are made by a neutral party appointed by the league and the NFL Players Association rather than by Commissioner Roger Goodell. That person would conduct a hearing and make a disciplinary decision. Goodell has the authority to resolve appeals on any discipline imposed.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
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