Ex-Raider Damon Arnette sentenced, expresses remorse for Park MGM confrontation
A Las Vegas judge sentenced former Raiders cornerback Damon Arnette to community service on Monday for misdemeanor charges in connection with a confrontation last year with Park MGM employees.
“I’m remorseful about everything,” Arnette told reporters after the hearing. “I do have regrets, but I’m not dwelling on it because I’m a better man than what I was.”
Arnette reached a plea deal with prosecutors last week in which he agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor charges of assault and drawing a deadly weapon, in exchange for a fine and community service. District Judge Ronald Israel ordered Arnette to stay out of trouble for 90 days, or face a potential yearlong jail sentence.
Israel also ordered Arnette to serve 50 hours of community service and pay a $2,000 fine. He emphasized that Arnette should not be around firearms.
“No guns means no guns,” the judge told Arnette.
Arnette appeared in court wearing a colorful necklace of beads, which he said represented his religion, Santeria. He confirmed that he has been in talks to play for the Dallas Cowboys but said the court proceedings had to be finalized before talks could move forward.
“Whatever I do, if I’m blessed enough to get a chance in the NFL then I’m going to kill that,” he said. “If not, I’m still a better person than I was before, so I’m going to kill whatever it is I do.”
Prosecutors had accused Arnette of racking a gun in the midst of a confrontation with Park MGM valet employees on Jan. 28, 2022. A casino valet testified to a grand jury that Arnette became angry with employees and pulled out a gun when asked for identification because he didn’t have a valet ticket to retrieve his vehicle.
He was indicted by a grand jury in May on felony charges of assault with a deadly weapon and carrying a concealed firearm, nearly a year after prosecutors initially dropped the charges against him. Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson has said that the charges were dropped because Las Vegas police did not provide enough evidence to move forward with the case.
Wolfson did not respond to a request for comment on Monday.
Israel met with attorneys outside the courtroom before the hearing. They discussed some of the “difficulties” of the case had it gone to trial, the judge said before announcing the sentence.
Arnette’s defense attorney, Ross Goodman, said the attorneys gave their justification for the plea deal to the judge before the hearing. Goodman has argued that Arnette did not point the gun at anyone or make any threats, and he spent about 20 minutes searching for the valet ticket before he was given the keys. He has also argued that the valet was walking away when Arnette was alleged to have racked the gun, and that the weapon was not concealed because it was visible in his waistband.
Arnette has faced other controversiesin recent years in addition to the Park MGM confrontation. In October 2021, he was sued by a woman who claimed she was injured in a 2020 hit-and-run crash involving the football player. The lawsuit was dismissed in May following an undisclosed settlement, court records show.
He was also sued in June 2021 by an Aria valet employee who alleged that Arnette “spat” on him. That lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice in January 2022, according to court records.
He was also arrested in Miami Beach last year on suspicion of drug charges, after police said he was pulled over and found with a baggie containing a white powdery substance. Florida court records show the case was closed in March after Arnette completed a pre-trial diversion program.
Arnette was released by the Raiders in November 2021 after a video on social media emerged of him threatening someone with a gun. He signed a reserve/futures contract with the AFC West rival Kansas City Chiefs, but the team released him following the confrontation at the Park MGM.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.