Walton hopes he’ll avoid major penalty
RB gets probation for 6 months after 3 separate arrests
DAVIE Miami Dolphins running back Mark Walton received six months probation on Monday, with the possibility his sentence could be reduced to three months, in a negotiated resolution following three separate arrests earlier this year.
Walton, a day after handing out school supplies to local children in his hometown of Overtown, is hoping to resurrect his football career with the Dolphins.
And his attorney believes the former University of Miami standout should be able to play this season without any additional punishment from the NFL.
“There are three incidents, so I’m sure the NFL will take some action,” Walton’s attorney Michael A. Gottlieb, of Fort Lauderdale, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Monday.
“But I would hope the NFL would look at the totality of the circumstances and the resolution of the case, and recognize there shouldn’t be a significant penalty in this case.”
A league source told the Sun Sentinel that the NFL has been monitoring the developments in Walton’s case, and the matter is still under league review.
While the league weighs its decision on Walton, he is free to continue competing for the Dolphins’ third-team running back job among a bevy of players.
“It means a lot to me just to be here with my hometown team,” Walton said following a recent Dolphins practice. “I’m just thankful to have this opportunity.”
The second-year player was cut by the Cincinnati Bengals in March after an arrest for a March 12 incident in Miami-Dade County, which resulted in him facing felony charges for carrying a concealed weapon he owned, marijuana possession and reckless driving.
Walton was confronted by police and ran away from the incident after he was hit with a stun gun and removed the electrified prongs, according to a police report. Police also found 14 grams of marijuana, a 9mm carbine rifle and several fully loaded clips in his vehicle.
It was Walton’s third arrest this offseason, which could have carried a five-year felony sentence.
“On the felony case, we had filed either six different motions to suppress or motions to dismiss,” Gottlieb said. “I think there were significant evidence entry problems with that case. And therefore, we were able to get the charges reduced.”
Walton was also facing a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge for a January arrest, and a misdemeanor battery charge for a fight that involved him taking a phone from a neighbor at his Brickell condo in February, according to court reports. Both of those charges were dismissed.
“As for the battery case, we believe that Mr. Walton was not guilty from the get-go. If you see the videos from that case, in my opinion, he’s being harassed,” Gottlieb said.
“He does take a phone from this person harassing him, and then she jumps on his back. If you listen to it in conjunction with the 911 tapes, she indicates on the 911 call, she indicates he did not hit her. Therefore, the state was well within their bounds to dismiss the battery charge.”
As a rookie with the Bengals, Walton had 14 carries for 34 yards and five catches for 41 yards last season after being selected in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL draft. Walton, who attended Miami Booker T. Washington High School, finished his Hurricanes career with 2,006 yards and 28 total touchdowns in three seasons (2015-17).
With the Dolphins, Walton has a chance to steer his NFL career in the right direction and earn significant playing time this season.
“Personally, I think I could be a helluva player if I just get myself together,” Walton said. “That’s something I’ve been doing lately, trying to work on myself. I think that process is going great for me. Whether it’s on the field or off the field, I feel it.”
Gottlieb believes Walton will hold up his end of the negotiations and stay out of trouble.
“We have an agreement that he automatically terminates to three months [probation] assuming there’s good behavior, which I imagine there will be,” Gottlieb said. “He’s a good kid.”