Overview
- Judge J. Logan Murphy granted the state’s request to hold Boakai Eugene Hilton without pretrial release on three kidnapping and three armed-robbery counts, each a first-degree felony.
- The court described the evidence against Hilton as overwhelming based on two text-message chains and consistent statements from three alleged victims.
- Prosecutors say the Feb. 4 Tampa ambush was arranged to recover property stolen the day before from Arnold’s Largo rental, including designer items, about $100,000 in cash, an $80,000 necklace and an NFL-issued phone.
- The order says victims were lured to an apartment, then held for roughly an hour, beaten and pistol-whipped, with a firearm forced into one victim’s mouth before phones and wallets were taken.
- Arnold is named in filings as a robbery victim and as present during discussions about the plan but has not been charged; multiple co-defendants have been arrested, and the Lions have not announced team action.