Michael Thomas Allegedly Involved in Incident Near Home
Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas was allegedly involved in an incident that occurred on Friday evening near his residence in Kenner. Saints News Network was originally informed late Friday night about the incident by multiple sources, with the main factor that led to Thomas reportedly being arrested by the Kenner Police Department involving an incident for slapping a cell phone out of someone's hand.
Local NBC affiliate WDSU reported that witnesses saw Thomas being taken away by police in Kenner after a call was made to the station to report a heavy police presence in the subdivision where he resides.
A Saints team spokesman told Saints News Network on Friday night, “We aware of the incident and are gathering information.”
Per witnesses in his neighborhood that spoke to WDSU, Thomas called the police after he became upset at contractors across the street who were repeatedly parking in the street near his house.
According to the alleged victim, there were weeks of threats from Thomas leading up to the altercation, with one of them involving a threat of getting a brick or bullet in the car if they were not moved. The alleged victim told WDSU that Thomas threw a brick at his car and threw his phone after he started recording.
SATURDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: On Saturday afternoon, the Kenner Police Department put out an official release regarding Thomas, which details him being arrested around 7 p.m. locally and was arrested and charged with simple battery and criminal mischief. He was booked at the lockup and released at approximately 10 p.m. locally, and the charges are considered misdemeanors.
Here's a copy of the release.
"The victim stated that Thomas began yelling at him about parking in front of his house and verbally threatened to harm him. The victim began recording the incident, which upset Thomas, who then picked up a brick and threw it at the windshield of the truck, causing little if any damage. Thomas then walked up to the victim, knocked the phone from his hands, shoved him and told him he did not want to be recorded."
This is not the first time a Saints player has had an incident in Kenner, as Chris Olave was arrested due to speeding, which saw video footage from the police officer's body cam uploaded to their YouTube page.
Per a league source, Thomas is expected be available for Sunday's game against the Vikings, as the team flies out Saturday for Minneapolis.
