LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Former Las Vegas Raiders cornerback Damon Arnette pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges connected to the alleged showing of a gun to a valet after he lost his claim ticket.
A grand jury indicted Arnette, 26, on assault with a deadly weapon and firearm-related charges earlier this month, the 8 News Now Investigators first reported.
On Jan. 28, 2022, Las Vegas Metro police arrested Arnette on charges of carrying a concealed weapon without a permit, assault with a deadly weapon, and two drug charges. The Clark County District Attorney’s Office dropped the case in July 2022. The office has not returned requests for comment about why it went forward with the indictment.
On the night of the alleged incident, a Park MGM parking attendant asked Arnette for his valet ticket, which Arnette had thrown out, his initial arrest report said. Police later stopped Arnette at a gas station on Las Vegas Boulevard, believing the car was stolen, documents said. Arnette denied pointing the gun at anyone, transcripts said.
Prosecutors said the gun was tucked in Arnette’s waistband. A witness told the grand jury he saw Arnette hold and then rack the gun, records said. The video appears to show Arnette removing the gun from his waistband and putting it in a door console.
Arnette’s attorney, Ross Goodman, filed a petition late Tuesday, saying there was no evidence his client attempted to assault the valet, documents said.
“At the valet area, [Arnette] stepped behind the driver’s side door to discreetly place the handgun inside the driver’s side door panel,” Goodman wrote in court documents. “The firearm is inside the car. He then turns around without the firearm to talk to the valet attendant about the claims ticket which he had accidentally thrown away after paying for it at the kiosk.”
The petition includes grand jury transcripts where the valet told the panel Arnette never pointed the gun at him nor anyone else, documents said.
Goodman’s petition includes a photograph of Arnette retrieving the lost claim ticket from a trash can.
In November 2021, the Raiders dropped Arnette after a video of Arnette went viral where he is seen brandishing a gun and threatening to kill someone. Arnette had an agreement to join the Kansas City Chiefs, but the team released the cornerback from his future contract after his arrest.
In July 2022, police in Miami arrested Arnette on drug charges. According to the arrest report obtained by 8 News Now, Arnette, police pulled Arnette over when a police officer recognized the car he was driving because he had made a stop on that same vehicle about three hours earlier and the driver, Arnette, was cited for driving on a suspended license.
During the second stop, Arnette was arrested and searched. The arrest report said police found “a small pink Ziplock baggie containing a white powdery substance consistent with that of cocaine, along with a straw that was cut into a small piece resembling a device that is common for cocaine use.”
A judge was expected to rule on Goodman’s petition on June 7. A trial was scheduled for Oct. 10.