BOMBSHELL BREAK
New evidence alleges payoff & coverup in armed robbery case of Giants’ Baker, Seahawks’ Dunbar
It was both the crime and the cover up.
At least that’s what a search warrant obtained exclusively by the Daily News seems to indicate in the case against Giants corner DeAndre Baker and Seahawks corner Quinton Dunbar for an alleged armed robbery that occurred on May 13 in Miramar, Fla.
The explosive warrant, obtained as a public record from the Broward County (Fla.) Clerk of Courts, seeks access to iCloud accounts associated with Baker and Dunbar. The warrant cites evidence collected through previous warrants, which includes video footage and direct messages that allegedly show witness Dominic Johnson oversaw the payoff of Baker’s and Dunbar’s four alleged victims on May 15 at the office of Dunbar’s attorney, Michael Grieco.
“I made them same n——s that said they got robbed come in and say them Boys ain’t have nothing to Do with it,” Johnson allegedly wrote on May 16 in a series of incriminating direct messages on his Instagram account, @powerballnick_305.
Johnson is the witness referred to as “Coach” in the original arrest warrant who told police that he has known Baker and Dunbar since they were children.
He advertises himself as the CEO of LOCKDOWN PROMOTIONS, a nightlife promotions company based in Miami, and has connections to several NFL players through coaching locally.
Baker’s attorney, Bradford Cohen, recently claimed to have testimony from two witnesses that they never saw the Giants corner pull a gun or rob anyone.
But Johnson’s own written words in his Instagram direct messages also “corroborate a robbery had occurred and those who were charged were the participants,” the warrant summarizes.
All four victims have given sworn statements that they were paid at the office that day to recant their sworn initial statements against Dunbar by signing affidavits. Combined, the four men say they were paid a total of $55,000.
Detective Mark Moretti of the Miramar Police Department,
who submitted the warrant reviewed by Judge Marina Garcia Wood, also reveals alarming direct messages between Baker and Johnson on Instagram that implicate Baker in the payoff.
“Johnson is telling Baker to come to Dunbar Lawyer’s office,” Moretti writes. “Baker replied, ‘Yo I’m in the city now getting cash how much to bring ?? I’m tryna get there too u ASAP.’”
“There appears to be several phone calls between Baker and Johnson,” the warrant continues. “Johnson appears to be nervous by telling Baker, ” Yooooo these people finna leave.”
Then, according to the warrant, CCTV video evidence shows Grieco, Johnson, an unknown individual, and the four alleged victims at the attorney’s office on May 15 appearing to make the payoff.
This new warrant says that in the video, Grieco is seen leaving his 24th floor office, taking the elevator to the lobby, and bringing Johnson and the four alleged victims back to his office at 2:26 p.m.
Johnson eventually leaves the office and meets an unknown person in the lobby, according to the warrant. And then Johnson and the unknown person take the elevator up from the lobby at 2:34 p.m.
During that elevator ride, the unknown person removes a “black bag” from his shoulders, “opens it and removes money.” The person also “shows the open bag to Johnson and you can see a large quantity of money. Johnson then takes the bag,” the warrant reads.
Then everyone meets in front of Grieco’s office before going inside. By 3:15 p.m., everyone has left the building. And at approximately 4 p.m., Moretti says he received notification from Grieco indicating there had been a change in testimony from the victims and witness.
One victim says he received $30,000 in Grieco’s office. A second says he received $20,000 in the lawyer’s office. And a third says he only received $5,000 and gave half the money to a fourth victim.
One of the four victims says “he was being directed that he didn’t see what he thought he saw” on the night of the alleged armed robbery, the warrant states. And the victim who received $5,000 said Grieco walked back into the office “just after the transaction had occurred” and said “there is no way he (Grieco) could not have seen this transaction.”
“On 5/15/20, I was contacted by Michael Grieco, attorney for Dunbar, stating the victims and witness have recanted their sworn/recorded statements against Dunbar,” the warrant reads. “However, I also want the court to be aware that all five individuals have been threatened and have expressed extreme concern to me regarding their safety. One of the individual (s) was forced to move out of his apartment. The other was receiving texted messages containing pictures of his passport, the same passport that was stolen during the robbery.”
Johnson’s Instagram messages to friends about his involvement in the case, quoted in the warrant, are particularly damning.
“We all heading to the lawyer now to get the charges dropped I got them n——s to sign the papers,” Johnson allegedly wrote in one message on May 15. “Got them same n——s that said they got robbed to say they didn’t … Same n——s that got robbed I made them fix that sh-t.”
“What happened?” a person whose name is not disclosed asked Johnson.
“They got mad cause the other dudes won the money,” Johnson wrote.
“Bra that sh-t ain’t go nothing like that,” he wrote in another message the same day, according to the warrant. “3 ball players was meeting up to play against each other in madden for the money and the only way n——s was invited cause they was nfl n——s no street n——s so everything was supposed to be safe and everybody knew who everybody was cause they played against each other in the season. One got mad felt like the other one was cheating and took his
money back. I got caught in the middle cause I invited the two dudes from the crib so that's how they put me in the middle. I never told on nobody.”
Another unnamed sender said: “coach you got to help them ppl much as you can holla at the ppl that got rob and the other side to clear it up cause your name involved.”
“I'm making it right,” Johnson allegedly replied.
In another text Johnson said: “N——s did that dumb sh-t and put me in a bad spot,” the warrant states.
“After the papers were signed, Johnson made a phone call to Dunbar, while in Grieco's office,” the warrant says. “Johnson was also communicating with Baker via direct messages, but it could not be determined if they actually met up.
“Also, it was later discovered after viewing the officers body worn cameras, the victim onscene were telling the responding officers that one of the suspects left a cell phone on-scene,” it continues. “According to the victims, Johnson took custody of the cell phone and concealed it from law enforcement. This piece could have identified one of the other participants in the robbery.
“Johnson's actions contaminated the integrity of the investigation as he made the victims recant their statements, only after given them cash,” the warrant adds. “Communication was established between all three parties, however the contents of that communication(s) could not be identified. Those messages could still be in possession of Apple Inc. This warrant will assist us in identifying communication methods used by involved parties and assist in obtaining additional information to further a criminal investigation.”
Baker, 22, and Dunbar, 27, turned themselves in to the Broward County main jail on May 16 and spent the overnight before being released on $200,000 and $100,000 bond, respectively.
Baker pleaded not guilty to four counts of armed robbery with a firearm and four counts of aggravated assault with a firearm. And Dunbar pled not guilty to four counts of armed robbery with a firearm.
A judge has granted Baker the ability to travel to the state of New Jersey for work purposes, and Dunbar recently filed for that same permission unopposed by the prosecution.
Asked for comment, a Miramar Police spokesperson said: “Due to the ongoing investigation, we are not commenting further and we are referring all questions to the State Attorney's office.'
The State Attorney's office does not comment on ongoing investigations as policy. The State Attorney's office is in the process of deciding whether or not to file formal charges.
The Giants told Baker after his arrest to stay away from their virtual meetings after his May 16 arrest and to focus on his legal issues, as first reported by the Daily News. Their position has not changed.
The NFL is investigating the incident and can impose discipline on Baker separate from the ongoing legal investigation. Asked for comment, an NFL spokesperson said only: “The matter remains under review.”
Dunbar recently added attorney Michael D. Weinstein as cocounsel to Grieco.
NFL training camps are tentatively scheduled to open on July 28.