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FLINT -- As Anthony Dirrell was released from the Flint City Jail on Tuesday after being held overnight on su****ion of armed robbery, friends and family were adamant that the Flint boxer had nothing to do with a bank robbery.
Dirrell, 23, was arrested Monday afternoon, about five hours after a gunman robbed a Franklin Bank branch on South Dort Highway.
His grandfather and trainer, Leon "Bumper" Lawson, said Dirrell was on his way to get radiation treatment for cancer when he was stopped by police.
"He said he didn't know what was going on. There were all these police around him and they had their guns drawn, like you've seen in the movies," Lawson said.
Lawson maintains that his grandson is innocent and it is a case of mistaken identity.
"Anyone who knows him, knows that's not his style," Lawson said. "He has a bright future and he'd be ****** as all get up to do something like that."
Police said Dirrell was stopped on Fenton Road near Major Street by a Genesee County Sheriff's Department paramedic who matched the first three letters of Dirrell's license plate to a partial plate that was dispatched after the bank robbery.
But police on Tuesday said they were still looking for a newer model red Dodge Charger with a partial plate of "BSA," as described by a witness.
The bank was robbed about 10:20 a.m. by a man who showed a teller a black handgun and demanded cash. No one was hurt and the robber left with an undisclosed amount of money.
Dirrell was taken into custody after police found a gun in his car, for which family and his lawyer Frank J. Manley said Dirrell had a concealed weapons permit.
He was released from the city lockup about 10:50 a.m. Tuesday pending further investigation of the robbery.
Genesee County Prosecutor David S. Leyton declined comment on the ongoing investigation. Acting Flint Police Chief Gary Hagler was unavailable for comment.
Dirrell has recently resumed training for his boxing career after he was sidelined by cancer for nearly a year, Lawson said.
He had not been boxing while undergoing treatment for non-Hodgkins lymphoma, but had been receiving monthly paychecks from his boxing advisor.
Jason Crutchfield, who has been training Dirrell for the past year, said he thought nothing of it when he heard of the arrest.
"I didn't even think twice about it," said Crutchfield, who has known Dirrell since the boxer was 11 or 12. "I knew it had to be some kind of mistake. He's not that kind of guy. He has so much on the line, and he's got a lot going for him right now."
Family friend Don E. Wells, a fellow boxer from Davison, said when he saw on the news that Dirrell had been arrested, he also didn't believe it.
He said both Dirrell and his brother, Andre, an Olympic medal holder in boxing, are both "good kids."
"There's no way he'd do something like this," Wells said. "He's just too well respected around Flint and in boxing. It just doesn't seem logical to jump like that."
Flint police are still looking for information about Monday's bank robbery, including the whereabouts of a man who was wearing a plaid jacket.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Flint police patrol desk at (810) 237-6800, Sgt. Anthony Pittman at (810) 237-6934 or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-422-JAIL.
Dirrell, 23, was arrested Monday afternoon, about five hours after a gunman robbed a Franklin Bank branch on South Dort Highway.
His grandfather and trainer, Leon "Bumper" Lawson, said Dirrell was on his way to get radiation treatment for cancer when he was stopped by police.
"He said he didn't know what was going on. There were all these police around him and they had their guns drawn, like you've seen in the movies," Lawson said.
Lawson maintains that his grandson is innocent and it is a case of mistaken identity.
"Anyone who knows him, knows that's not his style," Lawson said. "He has a bright future and he'd be ****** as all get up to do something like that."
Police said Dirrell was stopped on Fenton Road near Major Street by a Genesee County Sheriff's Department paramedic who matched the first three letters of Dirrell's license plate to a partial plate that was dispatched after the bank robbery.
But police on Tuesday said they were still looking for a newer model red Dodge Charger with a partial plate of "BSA," as described by a witness.
The bank was robbed about 10:20 a.m. by a man who showed a teller a black handgun and demanded cash. No one was hurt and the robber left with an undisclosed amount of money.
Dirrell was taken into custody after police found a gun in his car, for which family and his lawyer Frank J. Manley said Dirrell had a concealed weapons permit.
He was released from the city lockup about 10:50 a.m. Tuesday pending further investigation of the robbery.
Genesee County Prosecutor David S. Leyton declined comment on the ongoing investigation. Acting Flint Police Chief Gary Hagler was unavailable for comment.
Dirrell has recently resumed training for his boxing career after he was sidelined by cancer for nearly a year, Lawson said.
He had not been boxing while undergoing treatment for non-Hodgkins lymphoma, but had been receiving monthly paychecks from his boxing advisor.
Jason Crutchfield, who has been training Dirrell for the past year, said he thought nothing of it when he heard of the arrest.
"I didn't even think twice about it," said Crutchfield, who has known Dirrell since the boxer was 11 or 12. "I knew it had to be some kind of mistake. He's not that kind of guy. He has so much on the line, and he's got a lot going for him right now."
Family friend Don E. Wells, a fellow boxer from Davison, said when he saw on the news that Dirrell had been arrested, he also didn't believe it.
He said both Dirrell and his brother, Andre, an Olympic medal holder in boxing, are both "good kids."
"There's no way he'd do something like this," Wells said. "He's just too well respected around Flint and in boxing. It just doesn't seem logical to jump like that."
Flint police are still looking for information about Monday's bank robbery, including the whereabouts of a man who was wearing a plaid jacket.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Flint police patrol desk at (810) 237-6800, Sgt. Anthony Pittman at (810) 237-6934 or CrimeStoppers at 1-800-422-JAIL.
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