New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas is accused of throwing a brick at a contractor’s vehicle. (Matthew Hinton-USA TODAY Sports) (USA TODAY USPW / reuters)
New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas was arrested Friday following an incident involving a contractor outside his home, Kenner Police confirmed in a statement. The arrest comes two days before the Saints’ game against the host Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
In an interview with WDSU, alleged victim Luis Cifuentes claimed he was building a house across the street from Thomas’ home in Kenner, a New Orleans suburb, and had been having issues with the wide receiver for approximately two weeks. Thomas allegedly became upset and threatened the construction crew for parking across from his house, telling Cifuentes he would get “a brick or bullet” in his car.
On Friday, Cifuentes claimed Thomas walked up to the job site, grabbed two bricks and threw them at his truck. Cifuentes said he started recording video, leading Thomas to allegedly grab the phone and push him over in an attempt to delete the video.
The brick caused “little if any damage” to the contractor’s windshield, police said in the statement released Saturday morning.
Cifuentes and neighbors said Thomas was placed in a Kenner Police Department vehicle. Thomas, 30, was arrested “without incident” and fully cooperative during the investigation, per the police department’s statement. He was booked and released at approximately 10 p.m. on charges of simple battery and criminal mischief. A judge will rule on the misdemeanors in Kenner’s Mayor’s Court.
Right before word started to leak on Thomas’ arrest, the Saints released a short statement that didn’t specify the allegations: “We are aware of the incident and are gathering information.”
Thomas’ arrest comes just two weeks after the arrest of the Saints’ other top wide receiver, Chris Olave. The 23-year-old was pulled over for allegedly going 70 mph in a 30 mph zone, with video showing him pointedly telling an officer, “I play for the Saints, man.”