Chiefs defensive lineman Isaiah Buggs turned himself in to Tuscaloosa police Thursday morning after he allegedly mistreated two dogs, which resulted in one being euthanized.
Police issued an arrest warrant for Buggs on Wednesday on a charge of animal cruelty, and he turned himself in to the Tuscaloosa County Jail the next day. WIAT reported.
The NFL lineman was booked into jail and later released on $600 bail with a hearing scheduled for June 13.
Buggs is facing charges of animal cruelty after a neighbor reported two dogs left in the backyard of a home the Chiefs player was renting, and animal control officers arrived to find a white and gray pit bull and a black Rottweiler without food or water, according to multiple reports.
The police report was received on May 28th after the dogs had allegedly been outside for 10 days.
One was euthanized and the other was being treated for parvovirus, a highly contagious viral disease, WIAT reported.
Buggs declined to answer questions from reporters outside the Tuscaloosa County Jail after his release.
The video showed Buggs walking out wearing a black hoodie with the sleeves cut off and black sweatpants.
As reporters approached, he raised his hands in front of the camera and said, “Stay away from me.”
Buggs got into a Dodge Ram pickup truck and left the prison.
Buggs’ agent, Trey Robinson, has denied any wrongdoing by the NFL player and claimed the whole thing stemmed from an “ongoing sabotage campaign” to get Buggs to shut down a hookah lounge he owns in Tuscaloosa.
Robinson said in a statement Wednesday that Buggs “does not condone the mistreatment of animals of any kind” and that the dogs did not belong to him and that he was unaware they had remained on the property.
Buggs’ attorney also said his client had been arrested twice at his business in the past two months, but there was no public record of the arrests.
Robinson argued the city was trying to use this as a “bargaining chip” to get Buggs to give up his business license to avoid an IPO.
“Mr. Buggs has serious concerns about the motives behind the city and police deciding to target his company and has declined the city’s offer. He intends to disclose those motives as part of his defense against the allegations and charges brought against him, his reputation and his company,” Robinson added.
