Former Giants cornerback DeAndre Baker is no longer facing armed robbery charges.
The Broward County (Florida) State’s Attorney’s office announced on Monday that four armed robbery charges against Baker have been dropped. The news was the second development of the day in the case.
The attorney for Baker’s accusers was arrested on Monday after allegedly making an attempt to extort Baker. Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post reports that William Dean initially demanded $1.5 million and worked his way down to requesting $800,000 in exchange for his clients changing their statements about witnessing Baker rob people in May.
Dean’s three clients reportedly recanted their statements last week. The fourth person accusing Baker of robbery is not represented by Dean and did not show up for an October hearing.
Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar originally faced similar charges to those that Baker faces, but they were dropped for lack of evidence. His attorney Michael Grieco withdrew from the case amid allegations that he orchestrated payoffs to witnesses in order to get them to change their statements.
Baker was released by the Giants in September. He could still face discipline from the league, but Dunbar has not and the dismissal of the charges would seem to open the door to his return to action.