Seattle Seahawks cornerback Terrion Arnold faces eight felony charges in a Florida robbery and kidnapping case that could carry a life sentence. His co-defendant accepted a 10-year prison plea deal requiring testimony against Arnold, who is on the NFL Commissioner's Exempt List.
Boakai Hilton, 24, a friend and co-defendant of Arnold, pleaded guilty on Monday in a Hillsborough County courtroom and was sentenced to 10 years in Florida state prison. Hilton pleaded guilty to three counts of kidnapping, three counts of robbery with a firearm, conspiracy to commit kidnapping and conspiracy to commit robbery with a firearm, according to the Hillsborough County State Attorney's Office. The agreement requires him to testify truthfully in any future proceedings involving the case, including a potential trial for Arnold.
Arnold, 23, faces eight felony charges stemming from a February incident in Tampa. Prosecutors allege he helped organize a plot targeting three men suspected of stealing more than $250,000 in cash and other valuables from an Airbnb he had rented in nearby Largo, Florida. The men were allegedly lured to a Tampa apartment, where they were beaten, robbed at gunpoint and held against their will for more than an hour. Investigators said they found no evidence connecting the alleged victims to the original theft.
Arnold's attorneys have denied his involvement, asserting there is no credible evidence linking him to the crimes and maintaining that Arnold was not present at the apartment during the alleged attack. Hilton is not the only co-defendant cooperating: two other defendants, Arianna Del Valle and Jasmine Randazzo, previously pleaded guilty in the case and are also required to testify truthfully in further proceedings.
The case has already upended Arnold's career. The former first-round pick surrendered to authorities on June 24 and was released on $1 million bond. The Detroit Lions released him later that month. He signed with the Seattle Seahawks in August, but the NFL placed him on the Commissioner's Exempt List shortly afterward, barring him from practicing or playing while the league reviews his situation.
Arnold appeared remotely at Monday's court hearing. His next scheduled court date is December 15. With three cooperating co-defendants now lined up to testify against him, prosecutors' case is considerably stronger than it was in June — and a conviction could mean decades, or life, in prison for the 23-year-old cornerback.
The plea also sharpens a pattern prosecutors have leaned on throughout the case. From the start, they have portrayed Arnold — a former first-round pick whose NFL career was just taking off — as the architect of a revenge plot gone wildly wrong, allegedly coordinating the attack through group texts and a FaceTime call. The defense counters that the state's case rests on the word of admitted felons: Hilton, Del Valle and Randazzo all pleaded guilty and all must testify against Arnold to earn their deals. Whether a jury believes cooperating co-defendants over Arnold's claim that he was never at the apartment will likely decide the case. For the Seahawks, who signed Arnold to a one-year deal in August knowing the legal cloud, the wait continues — he has yet to suit up for the team in 2026.