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Florida prosecutors are dropping all charges against former New York Giant DeAndre Baker, that stemmed from an alleged robbery, and an attorney representing three people who claimed to be victims was arrested on an extortion charge, authorities said Monday.
Baker, 23, was charged with robbery with a firearm in connection with a May incident at a house party in Miramar.
On Monday, William Dean, 50, an attorney representing three men who had said they were victims, was arrested and is accused of trying to extort around $800,000 from Baker.
Dean allegedly wanted Baker to pay more than $266,000 to each alleged victim in exchange for them to stop cooperating with prosecutors and change their sworn statements, the sheriff’s office said.
“Evidence in the case reveals that Dean told Baker’s attorney that his clients would do ‘anything you want, so long as the money is right,'” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Prosecutor Paul Valcore, an assistant state attorney, said in a statement that the three alleged victims had stopped cooperating and “their credibility is inalterably tarnished.”
He wrote that all three recanted their initial statements and gave new ones saying that Baker was not involved in any criminal act and that they were not robbed.
Baker’s attorney, Bradford Cohen, did not return an emailed request for comment Monday night, but he has said the charges were based on the testimony of admitted liars.
