Isaiah Buggs of the Kansas City Chiefs was arrested Sunday in connection with an alleged robbery in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where he already faces animal cruelty charges after police confiscated two malnourished dogs.
According to jail records, Buggs was arrested on a charge of second-degree domestic violence robbery and posted $5,000 bail. A photo of the 27-year-old defensive tackle was included in the records.
Trey Robinson, Buggs’ agent, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Under Alabama law, a domestic violence robbery charge applies when the victim of the alleged crime is a parent, child, or current or former romantic partner of the suspect. The charge may also apply if the victim shares a child or household with the suspect.
A representative for the Tuscaloosa Police Department said Buggs was charged after officers responded to a residence following a 911 call at 5:28 a.m. Sunday. He was detained for 12 hours for domestic violence before being released on bail.
Court documents were not immediately available.
Buggs received his Super Bowl ring along with the rest of the Chiefs on Thursday. His Instagram account currently has only one post, which is a series of images from the ceremony.
He also posted a selfie video to his Instagram Story on Saturday, writing that he was proud of his “growth as a man and as a father.”
Buggs already faces misdemeanor animal cruelty charges after Tuscaloosa police officers were called to a residence and found two dogs on a back porch covered in feces and without access to food or water. Both dogs, a pit bull and a Rottweiler mix, were found “severely malnourished, emaciated and abandoned,” according to court documents.
Neighbors said the dogs had been on the porch for at least 10 days.
One of the two animals, a gray and white pit bull, was euthanized due to his increasing aggression and lack of response to heartworm treatment.
Witnesses told police that Buggs rented the residence until mid-to-late March, and documents indicate the agreement was terminated in April because more than $3,000 was owed in back rent.
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Robinson said at the time that his client “vehemently denies” the allegations. He added that the dogs did not belong to Buggs and his client did not know they were still on the property.
“Under no circumstances does Mr. Buggs condone the mistreatment of any animal,” Robinson said in an emailed statement.
The Chiefs, who recently won their third Super Bowl in four years, have had an offseason filled with controversial headlines.
Buggs’ teammate Rashee Rice had his own legal troubles following the team’s championship victory in February. He turned himself in to police in April on charges of aggravated assault after speeding a sports car that allegedly caused a pile-up in Dallas.
Rice was also a suspect in an assault that injured a man in Dallas last month. Rice is still under police investigation, although the man declined to press charges.
Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker was the subject of online outrage after delivering a divisive commencement speech at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. Butker criticized abortion, Pride month and Covid-19 lockdown measures.
She also told the women in the class that they had been told “diabolical lies” about their future and that one of the “most important” titles a woman can have is that of a housewife.
Women flooded the comments on the Chiefs’ social media posts, either directly asking the team to condemn Butker’s comments or making sarcastic jokes about the woman’s role.
Franchise stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce individually addressed Butker’s comments following the backlash, distancing themselves from the substance of the controversy while defending Butker as a teammate. Basically, both players said that while they disagree with much of the speech, they each respect Butker’s right to his own opinions.
Meriam Bouarrouj contributed.
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