Several Los Angeles thefts led police to arrest former NFL star Derrick Ward.
Several news sources say that Derrick Ward, a former NFL running back, is in police custody after being arrested on Monday for robbing several businesses to Southern California.
He was said to have robbed at least five places of business, including gas stores, according to NBC News. Reports from TMZ say that he used fear and force to get money instead of a gun during all of those alleged crimes.
The 43-year-old played professional football for eight years and won a Super Bowl via the New York Giants in 2007. As of Tuesday, Ward was still being held in a Los Angeles jail in a criminal charge. It is said that his bail is set at $250,000.
Ward’s first five years of work were spent in New Jersey. He was picked by the Jets in the seventh round in the 2004 NFL Draft, however he didn’t play for them. Instead, he went to the Giants and played for them.
He broke his leg late in the season and was put on injured reserve, so he didn’t play in the Giants’ Super Bowl victory at the end of 2007. During that season, the team went 10-6 as well as beat the unbeatable New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.
A strange catch by Giants wide receiver David Tyree by Eli Manning, called the “Helmet Catch,” set up the score that won the game for the Giants, making their 17-14 Super Bowl triumph memorable.
The next year was Ward’s best NFL season. The most yards he ever ran for were 1,025 in 2008. He then played with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or the Houston Texans. During his career, he ran for 2,628 yards and scored 12 scores.
As a child, he lived in Riverside County in southern California. Ward first went to college in California and played football for Fresno State. Then he moved to Kansas to go to Ottawa University.
The 43-year-old was picked by the NFL’s New York Jets within the seventh round of the 2004 draft.
He had played college football at Fresno State and then at Ottawa University to Kansas. He wasn’t even played in a game before the Jets cut him.
After five years, he left the Giants. Along with Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw, he was one of the team’s three-headed monster running backs. People called them “Earth, Wind, as well as Fire.”
When the Giants played in 2007, their running backs helped them get to the Super Bowl and beat the Tom Brady-led New England Patriots, who had never lost a game. After 12 years, he quit the NFL.
In 2008, Ward ran for more than 1,000 yards and led the NFL in yards per try (5.6) with the Giants. He subsequently signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2009. He played his last two years of football for the Houston Texans, in 2010 and 2011.
TMZ said that Derrick Ward, a former NFL running back, was arrested in Los Angeles on Monday for allegedly robbing several stores. TMZ says that Ward is still being held by police on Tuesday and that his bail is set at $250,000.
If you remember, Ward was on the New York Giants’ Super Bowl-winning side that beat Tom Brady’s unbeaten New England Patriots in 2007–08. He was recently accused of robbing several companies, including gas stations.
Police say the 43-year-old from L.A. did not use a gun during his alleged thefts, but they say Ward, who is 6 feet tall and 230 pounds, used fear and force to steal money from businesses.
Along with Brandon Jacobs along with Ahmad Bradshaw, he was a strong back for the Giants and earned the nickname “Earth, Wind, and Fire.” I was just happy that my friends got me a ring for winning the Super Bowl.
The Giants played the 18-0 Patriots in the Super Bowl in February 2008, but Ward couldn’t play because he broke his left leg in Week 13.
Ward telling The Post at the time, “One of the hardest things I’ve ever been through.” “As a kid, I always dreamed of finally being able to do something within the NFL and help our season get better even though we couldn’t play within the Super Bowl.”