National Football League

Simon drafted two days after arrest

Published Apr. 27, 2013 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

The Seattle Seahawks selected LSU cornerback Tharold Simon with the 138th overall pick in the fifth round of the NFL draft Saturday, just two days after he was arrested in his hometown of Eunice, La.

Simon was arrested Thursday night on charges of public intimidation, resisting an officer and a noise violation. He was released on bond. His agent, Peter Schaffer, said he is certain Simon acted appropriately and will be exonerated.

The 6-foot-3, 193-pound Simon was widely projected as a middle-round draft choice, and was hoping to be selected as early as Friday night, when the second and third rounds were taking place. He fits Seattle's mold of looking for tall cornerbacks, joining Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner in the Seahawks secondary.

Simon started at cornerback for LSU in 2012, leading the team with four interceptions and nine pass breakups. He was a regular in 2011 in passing situations, but was one of three Tigers suspended one game, along with defensive back Tyrann Mathieu and running back Spencer Ware, for testing positive for synthetic marijuana.

According to KATC.com, Simon was arrested Thursday in Eunice, where a “Tharold Simon Day” celebration was scheduled for Friday.

Simon was arrested on charges of intimidating a police officer and resisting that officer, as well as a noise violation — all stemming from an incident that started when Simon was reportedly asked to move his car. He was released on $11,000 bond.

According to the report, an officer approached Simon to ask him to move his vehicle, which was blocking a street. Simon allegedly responded by telling the officer, “I own Eunice,” adding that, “I'm gonna buy these projects, and you are gonna be mine.”

Simon also reportedly threatened to have the officer fired if he wrote him a ticket, turned his radio all the way up, and "backed the vehicle in an aggressive manner" — effectively doing what the officer originally asked, in the end.

A Eunice Police spokesperson told FOXSports.com that police reports are not made public in the city, and a request for further details relating to the arrest has yet to be returned.

On Friday, Simon’s agent, Schaffer, responded to the allegations with an outright denial to Pro Football Talk.

“I have spent the better part of the morning investigating this matter, including getting statements from over 20 witnesses,” Schaffer told the site. “The witnesses corroborate that Tharold did nothing wrong, certainly nothing illegal, and he acted with dignity and class throughout the entire ordeal. I am 100-percent certain that no charges will be filed. We are looking into pursuing a lawsuit against the office for violation of Tharold’s civil rights."

FOXSports.com's Sam Gardner contributed to this report.