Mike Vrabel arrested for felony theft in Indiana

AP

Two days before he’s due to be in court as a named plaintiff in the Tom Brady antitrust lawsuit, Chiefs linebacker Mike Vrabel had a much different entanglement with the justice system.

The criminal justice system.

Acting on a tip, we contacted the Switzerland County Jail in Vervay, Indiana.  Jail Commander James LaPine tells PFT that Vrabel was arrested for theft at the Belterra Casino in Florence, Indiana earlier today.

The charge, under Indiana law, is a Class D felony.  LaPine had no information regarding the thing that was allegedly stolen.

In Indiana, theft of anything, regardless of value, is a Class D felony.  It carries a sentence of six months to three years in prison.

Vrabel, who also is a member of the NFLPA* Executive Committee, was booked at 5:28 a.m. local time.  He was released at 10:39 a.m. after posting $600 bond.

The jail had no further details regarding the specifics of the alleged crime.  Also, LaPine declined to provide Vrabel’s date of birth for cross-reference purposes.  But LaPine confirmed that the Mike Vrabel who was arrested, booked, and released is the same Mike Vrabel who plays pro football.

Vrabel’s agent, Neil Cornrich, was not immediately available for comment.  NFLPA* spokesman George Atallah likewise was unavailable via phone.

UPDATE:  Via agent Neil Conrich, Vrabel has issued a statement acknowledging the arrest.  “It was an unfortunate misunderstanding, and I take full responsibility for the miscommunication,” Vrabel said.  “I feel comfortable that after talking with the appropriate parties, we will resolve this matter.”

59 responses to “Mike Vrabel arrested for felony theft in Indiana

  1. Looks like one of the felons from the associaton of the National Felon League strikes yet again.

    Partners. Ridiculous.

  2. in all of the labor mess i wouldnt mind seeing an owner get arrested for theft or drunk in public…it would be Irsay if i had to bet on it…

  3. Nice to see the players are getting ready for the lockout. These idiots need to go back to the table and sign whatever the Hell offer is still standing. Obviously a vast majority aren’t ready to cope with being normal citizens. Go pump gas Mike Vrabel.

  4. Good deal he’s been released…. wouldn’t it have been a shame if he had to dry shave the morning of his court appearance – and looked all red-faced and blotchy when he talked about how his fine upstanding fellow members of the NFLPA trade association need mo money!

  5. Man…the lockout is really hitting the players hard…they seem to be resorting to theft just to feed their families. No wonder he was begging to sit down and hash it out ASAP!

    /sarcasm

  6. Geez just when you think these guys can’t get any dumber they prove you wrong.

  7. I’m going to go out on a limb and predict that alcohol may have been a contributing factor to the “felony” and that Vrabel’s judgment might have been a tad bit impaired.

    (Not making excuses for Vrabel, but if Indiana law treats shoplifting or any misdemeanors as a felony, it’s a bit unfair to label him in the same legal category as someone who stole a car)

  8. Sounds like he tried to go the Ocean’s 11 route to make some extra coin during the lockout.

  9. “LaPine had no information regarding the thing that was allegedly stolen.”

    I’d wager it was the pure, simple innocence of every Mike-Vrabel-jersey-wearing-fan that he just stole.

  10. Maybe the NFL owners couldn’t meet with their “partners” last week because some of them were in JAIL or maybe the lead plantiff was back from his ponytail tour of Brazil ?

    Say what you want about the owners but when these clowns (player) are in jail, broke or sitting back doing nothing and enjoying the millions they earned playing a game, the owners will still be hard at work running the business that is the NFL!

  11. “It’s about time the owners start taking us very seriously. So let’s sue them to show them we mean business! In the mean time, let’s go to a Casino just a couple days before our huge trial!!!”

  12. Obviously I don’t know any details here, but based on everything I know about Mike Vrabel I feel safe in assuming that when more details do emerge it will make this item the high watermark of this story.

  13. Looks like boosting that ash tray from the blackjack table was a baaaad idea.

  14. Good thing he’s not an ex-Steeler or we’d be reading about a sexual assault charge instead of shoplifting some indian jewelry.

  15. Theft of anything is considered a felony in Indiana? Seems like there is a pretty wide range of potential fact patterns for this arrest – I’m not a fan of the Pats, Chiefs or Vrabel, but it may have been more prudent to wait until more details were available before going with the story. I’m sure we’ll see another PFT story with the nitty gritty as well as a link to this one (to prove who got the scoop) later in the day or week.

  16. lol, you can’t make this stuff up!!! This is one of the guys the NFLPA chose to represent them? LOL

  17. Must want to be a Bengal. Vervay is about an hour from Cincy. Hes just trying to get their attention

  18. It would be funny, if at the hearing, the owners volunteered to delay the case until after Vrabel’s felony charge is cleared up.

  19. At least it isn’t Michael Vick.

    Memo to Adriana Peterson: This is an example why the NFL feels like “Modern Day Slavery”, if the guys police themselves, then the owners would not have to.

  20. @medtxpack …

    You won’t see an owner getting arrested because they have a lot of handlers to ensure they don’t.

  21. Can Vrabel file a counter suit against the court claiming irreperable harm if he goes to jail?

  22. ..and getting arrested for a petty theft is worse than knowingly and fraudulently selling tickets, on a massive scale, to unsafe and/or non-existent seating, how again?

  23. It was just a misunderstanding. He thought the other person said “Please steal this item from me” when in fact they said “Please don’t steal this item from me”. I’m confident, as is Vrabel, that it will get resolved soon. It was just a misunderstanding after all.

  24. Vrabel is a known commodity and class act. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt based on ten years of solid leadership and performance both on and off the field.

    Doesn’t help the players union, however. Still, this appears to be at worst an isolated incident. I’ll bet the farm that this goes away with Vrabel’s good name intact.

  25. If Vrabel or his handlers had any sense, and this really is “just a misunderstanding,” they’d have provided more details.

    “Felony” trumps “misunderstanding” in any headline.

  26. Class D Felony: Minimum 1 year probation and maximum $250,000 fine or 5-10 years in prison (unlikely on first offense, but you never know).

  27. “It was an unfortunate misunderstanding, and I take full responsibility for the miscommunication,”

    I feel like I heard that before…..

    hmmmm?????????????

    Oh YEAH! Thats the same thing BB said. =D

  28. This is Indiana. He’ll get a deferral based on successfully completing 1 year probation(possibly 6 months).

    Oh, and he’ll have to spend some coin, too.

  29. The dude has been stealing red zone TDs from offensive players for the last decade, no shock to this keen observer.

    Why the long face in the mug shot?

  30. andyreidcarboload says:
    Apr 4, 2011 3:41 PM
    Ex Pat and a cheater.

    Ex Steeler too.

  31. Maroney…clean as a Pat, gets busted after he leaves. Vrabel, ditto.
    WHAT THE EFF IS MERIWEATHER GONNA DO AFTER HE LEAVES??????

    Vrabel has always been a sarcastic MF and while I have usually enjoyed his sense of humor, I can totally see why some denizens of Indiana may not have felt as kindly towards his humor. Especially if he was wasted and tried to talk to them.

  32. It was a misuderstanding. Vrabel misunderstood that being a member of the NFLPA* Executive Committee, is not a license to steal.

  33. This guy is simply trying to support his family.
    Besides he was trained by the genius so he would be too smart to cheat…

  34. so much for the lock out, it is now lock up. booked at 5:38 meand it must have happened about 4:30 am, I am sure he gets up early and he stole some eggs and bacon. Not a chance he was up all night, and drunk.

  35. According to KMBC’s web site the police state Vrable stole bottles of alcohol from the casino deli.

    He claims a misunderstanding with the bar tab.

    “Hey there is that a bottle in your pants or …”

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