KEY WEST, FLA. (WSVN) - The Cleveland Browns released defensive end Lonnie Phelps Jr. after he was arrested on DUI charges after crashing his SUV into a Key West restaurant, according to the Key West Police Department.
Officers responded to a traffic crash at the 400 block of Petronia Street just before 9 p.m., Wednesday.
According to the arrest report, officers found a black Hyundai SUV with its front passenger side embedded in the wall of the Red Shoe Island Bistro.
Both airbags had deployed, and the vehicle had significant front-end damage, the arrest report states.
Witnesses reported seeing Phelps, 23, and his girlfriend arguing after exiting the vehicle that had collided with the building.
Police said that Phelps exhibited signs of intoxication, including slurred speech, glassy eyes and a strong odor of alcohol on his breath.
He reportedly became agitated, repeatedly mentioning his credit card and insisting on paying for damages before becoming uncooperative with officers.
During the arrest process, police said that Phelps refused to comply with sobriety tests and repeatedly turned away from officers, claiming he did not want to be shot.
At one point, he reportedly urinated in the breath test operator’s room chair, stating, “I’m peeing, bro.”
Phelps was booked into Monroe County Detention Center and refused a breathalyzer test despite officers’ attempts to administer it.
He was cited for DUI and damaging property.
In a news release on Thursday, the Browns announced that they waived Phelps. The team did not address Phelps’ legal trouble in its news release but mentioned he spent all of 2023 on the practice squad.
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