A detective said the incident followed reported thefts from a Largo home rented by Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold.
TAMPA, Fla. — Two men accused of holding three people at gunpoint during a Tampa armed robbery and kidnapping were ordered held in jail while their cases move forward, after a judge said text messages and early evidence supported detectives’ account of a violent, hour-plus ordeal.
The case drew wider attention this week after a Tampa Police Department detective testified that investigators believe the incident is tied to reported thefts from a short term rental home in Largo that was rented by Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold. In court, lawyers for the two men attacked the credibility of the alleged victims and argued the state’s case relies heavily on hearsay at this stage. The judge said he was not deciding guilt, but that the evidence shown was enough to keep the men detained on some charges.
According to court documents described in court, the armed robbery and kidnapping were reported to have happened Feb. 4 at an apartment in the Eagles Point at Tampa Palms complex. Detectives said three men went to the apartment after being lured there by two women, Jasmine Randazzo and Ariana Del Valle. A warrant said one of the men walked into a bedroom looking for one of the women and opened a closet door, where he was confronted by two men with guns. The gunmen began striking him and another alleged victim, and the three men were held and threatened, a detective told the court. “They are battering the three victims, and they are pistol whipping them,” the detective said, describing a handgun being forced into a victim’s mouth.
The detective identified the two alleged gunmen as Lyndell Hudson and Christion Williams. Prosecutors said the men were demanding property, and the detective told the court the confrontation lasted about 1.5 hours. Hudson and Williams appeared in Hillsborough County court Tuesday for pretrial detention hearings. The judge, Chief Judge Christopher Sabella, heard arguments that focused less on the apartment itself and more on what may have sparked the confrontation. The detective testified that the Tampa incident is believed to connect to two reported thefts from a Largo home in the days before the Tampa case. The home was described as a short term rental that was being rented by Arnold at the time, the detective said.
In testimony, the detective said the Largo theft reports involved high value items. He said items including high end bags, guns, a cellphone and $100,000 in cash were reported missing. The detective also told the court that Hudson was part of Arnold’s security team and Williams was believed to be Arnold’s cousin, statements that placed the NFL player near the edges of the case without alleging he took part in the crimes. The focus of the Tampa case, the detective said, remained the alleged use of guns and the reported detention of three victims in the apartment. Investigators have not publicly described, in detail, how the victims and suspects knew each other, and it was not clear from the hearing what specific property the suspects believed they were retrieving.
Defense lawyers pressed on what they called gaps and delays in the state’s account. Hudson’s attorney asked the detective whether the alleged victims in the Tampa case were the same people accused of stealing property from the Largo rental. The detective said that, in the suspect’s account, they were. The attorney argued the court was being asked to accept one side based on competing claims. “So, it’s the suspects blaming the alleged victims. The alleged victims blaming the suspects,” the lawyer said, describing the evidence as hearsay from both parties. The detective agreed the decision to credit the victims’ account at this stage was based on what investigators had gathered so far.
The defense also argued that the timeline did not match the level of violence described. Hudson’s attorney said the state alleged the victims were beaten for about 1.5 hours, yet there were no injury photos presented and no reports of anyone going to a hospital. The lawyer also said there was a seven hour gap between when the victims left the apartment and when they reported the incident to police, arguing that delay mattered because the men could have talked among themselves before giving statements. The attorney said Hudson was not identified by name in the initial warrant and argued there was not enough evidence showing he intended to kidnap anyone. The defense told the judge that both Hudson and Williams have no prior criminal history.
Sabella acknowledged the hearing record included “a lot of hearsay” and said the defense was right to challenge credibility. Still, he said exhibits shown in court, including text messages, appeared to corroborate the detective’s description of what happened inside the apartment and suggested an incident that lasted about an hour and a half. Sabella said he was not finding the men guilty, but that the standard at a detention hearing is different and that the messages were compelling when viewed alongside the detective’s testimony. He granted the state’s motion for pretrial detention and denied bond for Hudson and Williams on some charges, according to the court ruling described at the hearing.
Hudson and Williams are facing charges that include robbery with a firearm, kidnapping with possession of a firearm and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. The case may not be limited to the four people named in the public court discussion. Detectives and prosecutors said they believe additional suspects were involved, though they did not name them in the hearing described by local coverage. Investigators also said it remains unclear whether any arrests have been made in connection with the reported thefts from the Largo rental, or where the missing items are now. Police said they were still trying to sort out what was taken, by whom, and how that may have led to the confrontation in Tampa.
The mention of Arnold, a Detroit Lions cornerback, added another layer to the case as it moved through court. After the hearing details became public, a representative for Arnold responded and disputed parts of the detective’s testimony, saying Hudson was not a security guard for Arnold and that Williams was not Arnold’s cousin. Investigators have not accused Arnold of a crime in the Tampa case, and no court documents described at the hearing alleged he was present during the apartment incident. The questions for detectives now include whether the Largo theft reports and the Tampa apartment encounter are part of one chain of events or separate disputes that overlapped in time.
As of Tuesday, Hudson and Williams remained in custody under the judge’s detention order on some charges, with the case expected to move to later hearings where prosecutors must present more direct evidence. Investigators have said they will continue looking for additional suspects and for the property reported missing from the Largo rental.
Author note: Last updated February 18, 2026.