MIAMI — Former NFL star Antonio Brown petitioned a Miami court to drop his attempted-murder charge on Thursday as he claims he fired warning shots outside a boxing event in fear of a foe who was in attendance and trying to hurt or possibly kill Brown, according to court records.
Specifically, Brown’s attorney, Mark Eiglarsh, filed a motion to dismiss the charge and claimed that the ex-football player was within his rights under the Stand Your Ground law to fire his lawfully owned gun because he was in fear for his life.
Florida’s Stand Your Ground law, passed in 2005, allows people to use deadly force instead of retreating if they reasonably believe such force is necessary to prevent them from imminent death or great physical harm.
Eiglarsh and Brown, 37, said they both believe deadly force was necessary on the night of May 16.
“Our detailed motion makes it abundantly clear that my client was forced to defend himself as a direct result of the alleged victim’s violent and aggressive actions,” Eiglarsh told the Miami Herald. “We are confident that these charges will be dismissed as a matter of law.”
That night, Brown got into a dispute at a boxing event hosted by influencer Adin Ross. The former All-Pro wide receiver said on X he was jumped by multiple individuals “who tried to steal my jewelry and cause physical harm to me.”
Brown allegedly punched Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu, 41, during the scuffle before the shooting. Detectives interviewed Nantambu, who said he tried to leave after Brown attacked him. But Brown, he asserted, chased him with a gun and fired at him — possibly grazing his neck.
Eiglarsh contends that Brown and Nantambu have a long, sorted and, sometimes, violent past.
In 2022, Nantambu was jailed in Dubai for 30 days after stealing Brown’s jewelry, Eiglarsh wrote in the motion. In December 2023, Nantambu allegedly attacked Brown backstage at a Rolling Loud concert when Brown was with several of his kids. Nantambu allegedly had to be restrained by security.
Eiglarsh alleges Nantambu knew Brown was at the boxing event on May 16 and was waiting outside “for an opportunity to confront Brown violently.”
When Brown left the event, he saw Nantambu quickly approach him with the intent “to attack him.” He eventually did close the distance and attacked Brown along with several others, according to Eiglarsh.
“Brown sustained injury to his eye, knee and hands, leaving him with visible bleeding,” the motion reads. “The chaos created by Nantambu’s violent attack heightened Brown’s fear for his life.”
Brown ran to his car to escape and grabbed his gun for safety, the motion says. Nantambu was in tow and Brown believed he was armed and might kill him or hurt him further, the motion claims.
Brown fired two warning shots, allegedly intentionally aiming away from Nantambu. But that did not deter him from again fighting Brown and taking his gun before running away with it, the motion states.
Nantambu claimed he was grazed by a bullet but in a Miami court on Nov. 12, Eiglarsh displayed a photo of Nantambu’s neck injury and argued it was inconsistent with the supposed grazing.
Brown stayed at the event and was later detained and searched. No firearm was found on him, although police found two spent shell casings and a damaged right-handed holster outside the venue. He was released.
Brown was extradited to Miami from Essex County, New Jersey, on Nov. 11 after he was apprehended in Dubai, where he had been for a few months. Eiglarsh said Brown wasn’t fleeing capture and was in the Middle East doing business before an arrest warrant was issued for him.
By DEVOUN CETOUTE/Miami Herald
