FEBRUARY 10, 1:37pm: Bryant and Saunders have been indicted on felony charges, according to a report from NewsNet5.com. Bryant was indicted on two counts of felony drug possession, while Saunders was indicted for improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle, per the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas.
DECEMBER 26, 2:32pm: A gun belonging to Saunders was in his glove compartment without a permit, the Akron Beacon Journal’s Nate Ulrich reports (on Twitter), with a Cuyahoga County prosecutor will review the matter.
A Cuyahoga County prosecutor will also review Bryant’s case, per Ulrich (on Twitter), and the third-year player has not been charged. Bryant was arrested for possession of Adderall, and he could not produce a prescription, Ulrich tweets. If he can’t provide a prescription, Bryant could also be subject to an NFL suspension, Cabot tweets.
1:25pm: Saunders has been charged with drunk driving and speeding and could also face a charge of having a gun while drunk, Evan McDonald of Cleveland.com reports (on Twitter, via Mary Kay Cabot).
Bryant could face charges if he’s unable to produce a prescription for the Adderall in his possession at the time of the stop, McDonald reports (via Cabot, on Twitter).
8:30am: Browns linebacker Armonty Bryant and cornerback De’Ante Saunders were arrested early Christmas morning, reports Scott Taylor of WOIO TV in Cleveland (via Twitter). According to Taylor, the duo was stopped on I-71 and arrested at 2:16 am on Friday morning. Saunders was arrested for OVI (operating a vehicle impaired) and speeding.
The two players were picked up by a friend after being processed early Christmas morning. Saunders refused a breath test, McDonald reports. He will appear in court Monday.
Browns general manager Ray Farmer gave Taylor a brief statement regarding the arrests (via Twitter):
“We have been made aware of the arrests of De’Ante Saunders and Armonty Bryant after a traffic stop early Friday morning.
These are charges that we take very seriously. The importance of responsible decision-making is something we continually stress to all members of our organizations, which makes it extremely disappointing that these two individuals would put themselves in this situation by making such poor decisions.
Armony will be inactive on Sunday for our game against the Chiefs and will not travel with the team to Kansas City so he can tend to this personal legal matter.
In addition to being a pending legal matter, this incident is subject to the NFL personal conduct policy and we have no further comment at this time.”
Bryant, a seventh-round pick in 2013, is having a career year in 2015. The 25-year-old has started two of his 14 games, compiling career-highs in tackles (40), sacks (5.5), and forced fumbles (two). Bryant is set to make $675K next season, but the Browns could cut the linebacker without being left with any dead money.
Saunders, an undrafted rookie, joined the Browns in November. The Tennessee State product made his only appearance in Week 9 against the Bengals, where he compiled a single tackle. The 23-year-old was on the Browns practice squad at the time of the arrest.