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A former Las Vegas Raiders cornerback was caught on camera admitting he lied that he wasn’t driving a car which crashed and injured a woman.
Damon Arnette was caught on police body-camera admitting that he had in fact been behind the wheel of the SUV that crashed into Yanet Casique’s white sedan in the Nevada city in October 2020, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
Arnette’s friend Jonathon Washington was filmed during the same incident sat in the driver seat of the car claiming that he had actually been behind the wheel.
Meanwhile, the brother of Henry Ruggs – another ex-Raiders star awaiting trial for a 156mph crash that killed another driver – turned up at the scene afterwards to meddle with the investigation.
Kevontae Ruggs could be seen asking cops not to write the incident down as an accident, and even offered them a Raiders shirt in return for not doing so.
He was filmed saying: ‘Just for the purposes right here,’ said Ruggs, who was not in Arnette’s car when the crash initially took place. ‘Can you please not put the fact that he was in an accident in the paperwork?’
David Arnette is pictured finally admitting to police that he was the driver of an SUV that crashed in Henderson, Nevada, in October 2020 – hours after it slammed into a white sedan
Arnette’s friend Jonathon Washington, pictured, was sat in the driver’s seat when cops arrived and claimed he’d been driving the car
Henry Ruggs’ brother Kevontae Ruggs, pictured, also arrived on the scene and pleaded with the cop not to write the incident up as an accident, even offering a Raiders jersey. His brother was involved in a deadly smash just a year later
Arnette’s Ford SUV is pictured in the wake of the crash (left). He collided with a white sedan (right) that was being driven by Yanet Casique
Moments later, he tries to cover the entire incident by offering the lead investigating officer a jersey.
‘I promise you, I’ll get you the jersey today,’ Ruggs could be heard telling the officer in body came footage released this weekend by Henderson Police. The officer can be seen declining the offer in the video.
‘Not as in — you know what I’m saying — like a bribe right here or nothing like that,’ Ruggs added. ‘A chance to give.’
Arnette, who is now a free agent due to continuous legal troubles, and three other people, including Kevontae’ Ruggs – the little brother of former Raider player – Henry Ruggs III – were seen covering up the incident on October 14, 2020.
They were seen doing so by witnesses nearby, who claimed to having seen Arnette switching seats with another man before emergency medical services’ arrival.
Hours following the wreck, Arnette confessed to police that he had been the one that caused the incident. He added that he never asked Washington, whom he refers to as his ‘brother’, to lie for him in an interview with officers at Henderson Police Department’s headquarters.
Arnette, pictured in September 2020, was cut from the Raiders in November 2021 following a series of brushes with the law
‘He was just trying to look out for me,’ Arnette said in video evidence provided by police. He further said that he told Washington to provide officers with his driver license information, like he had done successfully after another crash on a Las Vegas highway earlier in 2020.
It remains unknown if Arnette had been under the influence at the time of the crash, due to only being interviewed by police until more than four hours after the incident.
Henderson Police have come under fire for their handling of the crash.
The lead officer in the investigation can be heard telling another officer at one point during the interrogation that ‘we’re losing big time time on 409,’ which is a code in policework for drink driving, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
‘Damon, we don’t care at this point,’ the lead investigator later says. ‘But were you DUI?’
Arnette responded that he had not been impaired at the time of the crash.
A second officer can be seen telling the football star in response: ‘You have too much to lose.’
It was only in November 2021 – a little more than a year after the crash – that Arnette was formally held responsible for the incident. Subsequently, the Raiders cut Arnette from its roster later that same month.
The two officers interviewing Arnette told the football star that he had complicated matters even more by getting his friends to cover for him in what they deemed as a ‘minor crash investigation’. Several witnesses, including a woman claiming to have seen the crash, helped police determine that Arnette was the driver at the time of the crash.
Arnette told both police officers that that he had gone to check on Yanet Casique – the injured woman who was hit by his Ford Explorer – after the crash. He claims to have helped out of the vehicle, and to have offered to go on a walk with her.
‘You did a good thing,’ the lead officer in the investigation told Arnette. ‘ That changes things quite a bit. It’s just a little traffic ticket.’
Arnette thanked the officer, responding: ‘I appreciate it.’
‘That’s one thing about me,’ he added. ‘I got you, and one thing about me, I keep it 100 at all time.
‘Everything I just told you, that’s what happened, bro,’ the 2020 NFL drafter further said.
Arnette was conclusively charged with failure to stay at the scene of a crash and improper lane change, both classified as misdemeanors, according to Henderson Municipal Court. The case reached its conclusion in September 2021, with Arnette pleading guilty and paying a $1,1140 fine, court records show.
‘Let Jonathon know what could’ve happened,’ the lead officer told Arnette moments before the interrogation ends, before bumping fists with the ex-NFL player and walks out.
When asked whether Arnette was intoxicated or under the influence at the time of the crash, a Henderson spokesperson told the Review-Journal that officers followed protocols ‘when investigating any incident,’ underlining Nevada law that states that breathalyzer tests can not be done if the person was not ‘in actual physical control of a vehicle’ and Arnette was not ‘in the driver’s seat of the vehicle.’
Henry Ruggs, right, former Raiders wide receiver, accused of DUI resulting in death of Tina Tenor, 23, enters the courtroom with his attorney Richard Schonfeld, at the Regional Justice Center, in November of last year, in Las Vegas
A year on from the incident, Yanet Casique – the injured woman in the crash – filed a lawsuit against Arnette on October 5, 2021. The case is currently ongoing.
‘The victim’s already done with medical treatment’ but has had ‘no contact from Arnette, or any intent from him to make her whole or bring this to a resolution,’ said Juan Gallo – Casique’s lawyer.
Attorney Bruce Kelley, defending Arnette, declined to answer to the Review-Journal’s comment, citing a ‘policy of not commenting on matters in litigation.’
Nearly a month after the lawsuit was filed, Henry Ruggs III crashed his Corvette into a SUV while driving at 156 mph killing 23-year-old Tina Tintor and her golden retriever, Max, Las Vegas police reported in November.
Ruggs is currently free on bail on four felony charges, including two counts of driving under the influence and causing death.
A preliminary hearing for his case, initially scheduled for this month, was pushed back to May 19 after a judge granted Ruggs’ attorney – David Chesnoff – request for more time ‘because there is material that still needs to be reviewed and evidence inspected.’
Source: dailymail
