Jerrell Powe, a 35-year-old former NFL player, was taken into custody last week on charges of kidnapping, according to authorities.
Madison County Detention Center jail records show that Powe was booked on Jan. 12 at 7:31 p.m. with no bail set. He was arrested by officers of the Ridgeland Police Department at a bank in the city.
Brian Myers, chief of the Ridgeland Police Department, said a second 35-year-old individual was also arrested in connection with the case, WLBT reported.
That person has been identified as Gavin Bates of California. Bates was taken in at the detention center in Madison County on Jan. 12 about 10 minutes after Powe.
According to jail records, Bates was also charged with kidnapping in addition to a controlled substance violation charge.
Myers told WLBT that the victim of the alleged kidnapping managed to contact Ridgeland police. The victim, who was not identified, told officers that he was “forced to withdraw money” at a bank after being abducted “against his will.”
The police chief noted that the victim was safe.
The abduction reportedly began in Laurel, a city in Jones County, Mississippi, and ended in Ridgeland, a city in Madison County, after the victim was able to contact police.
Both Powe and Bates are scheduled to appear before a judge on Tuesday.
Powe was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played with the team for three seasons, appearing in 12 games, before being released by the Chiefs in 2013.
In March 2014, the defensive tackle signed with the Houston Texans before signing with the Washington Commanders—a team then known as the Washington Redskins—in 2015. The team released him a year later before the start of the regular season.
Prior to his professional football career, Powe was considered a “potential freshman star” by some media outlets. He was ranked on Rivals.com as the third-best defensive lineman prospect in the country, behind DeMarcus Granger and Callahan Bright.
From 2008 to 2011, Powe played defensive tackle for Ole Miss at the University of Mississippi, which he picked over Auburn, Texas A&M, and LSU.