Jerrell Powe and accomplice Gavin Bates, were arrested Thursday after a man told police he was allegedly kidnapped and forced to withdraw money at a bank, police said.
A former NFL player has been arrested and charged with kidnapping in Mississippi, police said.
Jerrell Powe, 35, who played football for Ole Miss in college and played several seasons in the NFL, was booked into the Madison County Detention Center on a kidnapping charge Thursday at 7:30 p.m., booking records show.
Ridgeland police officers found Powe, and accomplice Gavin Bates, 35, at a Chase Bank on Highland Colony Parkway Thursday, police chief Brian Myers told NBC affiliate WLBT of Jackson. Ridgeland is about 10 miles northeast of Jackson.
Police said a victim contacted police and told officers he was kidnapped “against his will” and was “forced to withdraw money” at the bank, Myers said.
The victim is safe, the police chief said, and the matter is under investigation, the station reported.
Powe and Bates were both subsequently detained on a kidnapping charge. Bates was additionally hit with a controlled substance violation charge.
Both are being held without bond pending a hearing Tuesday, according to The Associated Press. It’s not immediately clear if the pair have retained lawyers.
The athlete played for Ole Miss starting in 2008. He was drafted by Kansas City Chiefs as the sixth-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. He went on to play for the Houston Texas and signed with the Washington Redskins, now renamed the Washington Commanders, in 2015 but was later released a year later.
He announced his retirement from football in 2017.
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Marlene Lenthang