Ex-NFL linebacker faces charges from Starbucks drive-thru incident
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. >> Former NFL linebacker Terrell Suggs has been arrested after allegedly threatening another man and showing a handgun during a dispute in a Starbucks drive-thru line.
Scottsdale Police arrested Suggs on Tuesday at about 3 p.m. and charged him with threatening and intimidating and disorderly conduct with a weapon. The former Baltimore Ravens player was released this morning.
The incident on March 10 began after a black Range Rover driven by Suggs passed the ordering speaker at Starbucks and had to back up to place his order, backing into the other vehicle, the police report said. The other vehicle didn’t receive any damage, and both men got out of their vehicles and argued before returning and collecting their orders.
Suggs allegedly flipped off the other driver and threatened to kill him before driving off. He stuck a handgun out of his window without pointing it at the other man and then left, police said.
Suggs released a statement through EAG Sports Management saying he was “in a quiet area of Scottsdale in the middle of the day” when the incident happened.
“I was getting coffee. I was not looking for any trouble,” Suggs said in the statement. “When the man in the other vehicle escalated the situation, I feared for my safety not knowing what his intentions were.
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“Throughout the incident, I was the one who felt in danger, while fearing I would be followed home and for the safety of my family nearby at my residence.”
Police officers were able to identify Suggs through a video/audio camera on the other vehicle and said the Range Rover was registered to him.
Suggs was a seven-time Pro Bowl selection who was the defensive rookie of the year in 2003 and the defensive player of the year in 2011. He played for the Ravens from 2003-18 after being selected 10th overall in the NFL draft out of Arizona State.
Suggs’ preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 29 in the Superior Court of Arizona, Maricopa County.