LAS VEGAS -- A Nevada judge on Wednesday ordered former NFL cornerback Damon Arnette to appear in person to resolve a felony gun case by pleading guilty to two misdemeanors stemming from an argument with Las Vegas Strip casino valets in January 2022.
"I'm going to need the justification for the agreement," Clark County District Court Judge Ronald Israel told Arnette's attorney, Ross Goodman, before rescheduling a hearing for Monday to accept the plea deal.
Goodman protested that similar deals are routinely accepted by judges without the defendant appearing in court. The attorney pointed to a document that Arnette signed last week with prosecutors calling for him to perform 50 hours of community service, pay $2,000 in fines, "forfeit firearm" and serve the equivalent of one year on probation.