TAMPA, Fla. — Former Detroit Lions cornerback Cameron Sutton appeared in a west-central Florida court on Monday, where he was charged with one misdemeanor count of domestic battery. His appearance came a day after he surrendered to authorities.
Sutton, 29, was taken into custody on Sunday, more than a week after law enforcement issued a warrant for his arrest on a domestic battery charge, the Tampa Bay Times reported. He originally was to be charged with domestic battery by strangulation, a third-degree felony that carries up to a five-year prison term, according to a news release from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
However, prosecutors decided to file a misdemeanor charge, Erin Maloney, a spokesperson for the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office, told the Times.
“After reviewing the evidence, it was appropriate for our office to move forward on misdemeanor domestic battery charges,” Maloney told the newspaper in an email.
A statement from former #Lions CB Cam Sutton, via his attorneys Todd Foster and Jason Setchen. pic.twitter.com/5HOfSaYLED
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) April 1, 2024
A misdemeanor battery charge in Florida carries up to a year in prison, up to a year of probation and a maximum fine of $1,000, according to the Times.
The player’s attorney contacted the sheriff’s office on March 25 to say that he was going to surrender to authorities, the news release stated. Sutton surrendered at Tampa’s Orient Road Jail at 8:24 p.m. EDT on Sunday, the sheriff’s office said.
“After weeks of evading law enforcement, this man has finally made the right choice to turn himself in,” Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a statement. “Domestic violence has no place in our community, and no one is above the law here in Hillsborough County. My thoughts are with this woman as she continues to heal from this man’s gruesome actions.”
Sutton Turns Himself in at ORJ
— HCSO (@HCSOSheriff) April 1, 2024
Former Detroit Lion Cameron Sutton, 29, has turned himself in at the Orient Road Jail after a warrant for his arrest was issued earlier this month.
More: https://t.co/hkEmOhNwZc pic.twitter.com/OxRZ2cDVqz
Sutton was released from jail on Monday on his own recognizance, ESPN reported. Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office online jail records stated that Sutton was set free at 4:05 p.m. EDT.
Phil Martello, a sheriff’s office spokesperson, said that deputies responded to Sutton’s home in the north Tampa suburb of Lutz at 4:53 a.m. on March 7, the Times reported. When deputies arrived, they discovered a woman who “had been battered,” according to the newspaper.
Sutton left the home before authorities arrived, and repeated attempts to reach him by phone were unsuccessful, Martello said.
According to Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sutton played six seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers after being drafted in the third round of the 2017 NFL draft. He joined Detroit last year as an unrestricted free agent after signing a three-year, $33 million contract, The Associated Press reported.
Sutton started all 17 regular-season games for the Lions, helping the team reach the NFC Championship Game. He made 65 tackles and had one interception, according to Pro-Football-Reference.com.
According to Lions team president Rod Wood, the organization learned about Sutton’s legal troubles through social media on March 20, the Detroit Free Press reported. Wood said Sutton was at the team’s complex, “unexpectedly” working out with the team’s strength staff, when news of the warrant for his arrest became public.
Wood said the Lions encouraged Sutton to surrender to authorities, then released him on March 21, according to the newspaper.
“Suggested he get counsel and do the right thing to turn himself in,” Wood told WJBK-TV. “After that, we met the rest of the day and the following morning to decide to release him.”
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