Editor's note: Story updates at 1:11 p.m. after sheriff's office issues correction to Sutton's warrant.
Detroit Lions cornerback Cam Sutton is wanted in connection with a domestic violence incident in Florida.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office issued an arrest warrant for Sutton earlier this month on a charge of domestic battery by strangulation for an incident in Lutz, Florida, a suburb of Tampa.
Phil Martello, spokesman for the sheriff's office, said the department responded to an ongoing domestic violence call involving Sutton, 29, and a woman around 5 a.m. on March 7.
The victim suffered injuries indicating an incident had occurred, Martello said, and an arrest warrant was issued that same day. On Wednesday, the department posted a message on social media asking for help locating Sutton.
In the post, the sheriff's office said Sutton may be driving a Jeep Grand Wagoneer and provided the license plate number. Martello said Sutton is believed to be in Florida, not Michigan.
“We served your warrant on the seventh because of all the evidence we found there,” Martello said. “I couldn't find him here in Tampa, I'm pretty sure he ran away. We got a couple hits on the license plate readers on him, but we haven't been able to track him down here, so that's where we are.” right now.
“They tried to contact him, they couldn't reach him on the phone so they released him, our detectives have exhausted everything to try and locate him and that's why we ended up posting the material on social media.” “.
Court records show that a Zoom hearing took place on March 6 in a paternity case between Sutton and Kortnee Alexander, and that another hearing in the case was canceled on March 7. The Free Press reached out to Alexander's attorney but did not immediately receive a response.
The Lions released a statement on the situation Wednesday afternoon: “This morning we became aware of the ongoing legal situation involving Cam Sutton. “We will continue to monitor the situation and will not be making any further comment at this time.”
Sutton's attorney, Jason Setchen, did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Sutton had a disappointing first season with the Lions after signing a three-year, $33 million contract last offseason. He made 65 tackles and had one interception while starting all 17 regular-season games, but struggled late in the season and in the playoffs against No. 1 receivers.
The Lions traded for Carlton Davis III and signed Amik Robertson in free agency to bolster their secondary this offseason. Davis was expected to start as the team's number one cornerback, opposite Sutton, with Robertson and Emmanuel Moseley as the team's top backups.
Sutton is scheduled to make $10.5 million this fall and has a 2024 cap hit of $12.68 million.
Free Press writer Dave Boucher contributed to this report.
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.