In an almost unimaginable story of betrayal, former NFL wide receiver Bernard Berrian – who played for the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears – claims he caught a former college teammate burglarizing his home after the two were hanging out together at a barbecue earlier that same day.
Berrian, whose home had been broken into twice in the previous few weeks, installed a camera system that would alert him remotely when someone entered his house.
Not long after, Berrian says he was at a barbecue with Therrian Fontenot, a longtime friend and former college teammate, when Fontenot left the party early.
What happened next can only be described as an absolute gutpunch.
Shortly after Fontenot left the party, Berrian says his phone buzzed to alert him that someone was in his house. ABC News30 in Fresno quotes Berrian on what happened next.
“I actually watched him doing it while he was doing it,” said Berrian.
“I could have actually spoke to him, I got a microphone on there. I could have told him, I got you, while he was doing it.” But instead, a shocked Berrian was speechless, watching the crime unfold, by a burglar he knew, who even brought cleaning supplies to wipe away the evidence. “I was like, wow, he is a real professional, he takes a spray bottle with him to wipe off fingerprints and a towel.”
All told, Berrian says his old college buddy took him for about $30,000.
Fontenot pleaded no contest in a Fresno County court room several weeks ago for the crime that Berrian caught on tape. Berrian attended the sentencing where Fontenot received only six months in jail.
But for Berrian, who wrote a letter to the court detailing how violated he felt by his friend’s betrayal, a long jail sentence wasn’t necessarily the goal. But Berrian admits there was some satisfaction in watching Fontenot hauled away in handcuffs.
“I mean, I hate seeing people go to jail and I hate seeing people get locked up,” Berrian said, “but he got what he had coming to him.”
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports
