Penn Live: Antonio Brown furniture-tossing lawsuit: What we know, don’t know (October 10, 2018)

By October 12, 2018


Jacob Klinger / jklinger@pennlive.com

PITTSBURGH — Antonio Brown is being sued by Ophir Sternberg and his then 22-month old son over allegations of furniture-tossing from high above a Miami, Fla., apartment, with Sternberg claiming that his son and his son’s grandfather could have been killed if the objects fell a foot or two differently than they did.
TMZ first reported the news, which has grown as Tuesday has worn on with multiple police reports being reported on, and the apartment complex is also suing the Steelers star receiver for breach of lease.
Below is a breakdown of what we do and do not know about the lawsuits and what they may or may not mean for Brown’s future.
What we know
Who: Ophir Sternberg
He is the adult plaintiff, who along with his son Amnon Sternberg, is suing Brown, accusing the Steelers receiver of throwing a pair of lamps, an ottoman and other furniture out an apartment window, nearly striking his son, Amnon.
Sternberg, according to his bio page on Lionheart Capital’s website, was in the Israeli Defense Force, became an investment broker in New York, then founded a real estate investment and management company before moving to Miami and partnering to form Lionheart Capital, LLC. He is the CEO of the company.
“Mr. Brown’s out of control and inexcusable behavior could have killed my son. His reckless tantrum displayed complete disregard for the safety of others,” Ophir Sternberg said in a statement to ESPN.
“We intend to hold Mr. Brown accountable, to hopefully ensure that something like this never happens again.”
April 13
This is the date from which, according to TMZ, police obtained video of a cleaning crew entering Brown’s apartment at The Mansions at Acqualina. According to TMZ, citing police reports, police spoke with a women who said they were hired and given the OK to clean the apartment by a representative of Brown.
Brown was away for 11 days at the time, according to TMZ, and called police about a handgun and $80,000 when he returned.
The women police say they spoke with suggested other people who were in the apartment prior to Brown leaving could’ve taken the gun and money, according to TMZ. PennLive has yet to obtain this police report, though a request has been filed with the Sunny Isles Beach city clerk.
April 23
Brown called police and told them $80,000 was missing from a tote bag hidden in his closet, according to TMZ, citing police reports. He also told them his nine millimeter handgun was missing, according to TMZ, citing police reports not yet obtained by PennLive.
April 24
Brown called police, upset at the apartment complex’s security and yelling that he thought security staffers had set him up, according to the police report obtained by PennLive and embedded below:
Apparently when Mr. Brown got upset he started throwing things in the apartment and the coffee table glass was broken along with a few other minor objects,” the police report reads. “He also threw some object from the balcony into the pool area causing minor damage there as well.”
According to the police report:

After a conversation with a Sgt. Royal, in which the officer told Brown to call him directly with any questions rather than confronting the private security at the apartment, Brown told police there would not be any other incidents. A Mr. Whitley, the security director on-site, said he didn’t want the police to take any action against Brown, but that the building would initiate an eviction.
The police report lists the time of the incidents described above as 10:08 a.m.
This is the same day which, according to the lawsuit filed by Ophir Sternberg, Brown threw a pair of vases and an ottoman out a window around 10:30 a.m. — some of which came within “a foot or two” of hitting Amnon Sternberg and his grandfather. Private security investigated and determined the objects came from Brown’s Apt. 1402, according to the lawsuit, which states Brown was yelling at security personnel when police arrived.
(It is unclear if there were multiple calls made by police to the apartment complex or if the lawsuit or police incorrectly recorded the time of these alleged incidents).
The lawsuit was filed on Aug. 16.
The lawsuit filed by Acqualina – the apartment complex – was filed on Aug. 15. It accuses Brown of “destroying, damaging, defacing the premises, as well as furnishings, appliances and other personalty” belonging to Acqualina.
“The apartment was in shambles,” George A. Minski, the lawyer representing the condo owner, said in a statement to ESPN.
“Mirrors were smashed, tables were destroyed, there were holes and damages to the walls. Countertops were lifted off the deck. The unit is furnished with leather couches and love seats, and there were burn holes and black magic markers. It looked like they had rumbled. We tried to resolve it amicably and it got nowhere so we filed a lawsuit.”

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