Former New York Giants football player Derrick Ward, who won a Super Bowl championship ring during his stint in the NFL, was arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department in connection to a robbery investigation.
Ward, 43, was arrested Monday around noon by officers from the LAPD’s North Hollywood station and he was booked into a Van Nuys jail around 6:30 p.m. according to jail records. Ward was booked on robbery charges, said LAPD Officer Annie Moran, who added that the department did not have any additional details to release surrounding the investigation.
NBC News quoted police sources who said Ward allegedly robbed at least five businesses, including gas stations. The 6-foot, 230-pound man was not suspected of using a firearm during any of those offenses, according to the news site.
He’s being held on a $250,000 bail, according to jail records.
Born in Los Angeles, Ward played high school football for Valley View High School in Moreno Valley and played college football for Fresno State and then Ottawa University in Kansas. He was drafted into the NFL in 2004 and went on to sign with the New York Giants the same year. In 2008, Ward and the Giants beat the New England Patriots at the Super Bowl, but the following year he went on to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers where he signed a four-year contract worth $17 million, Sports Illustrated reported at the time.
Ward went on to play for the Houston Texans before he announced his retirement in 2012 from the NFL via his Twitter account.