Falcons rookie James Pearce Jr. has been arrested following a police chase prompted by an alleged domestic dispute.
Miami area police arrested Pearce Jr. over the incident, in which he fled a scene involving his ex-girlfriend, WNBA star Rickea Jackson. The 22-year-old tried to evade officers who arrived after receiving a call about a man and a woman, assumed to be Pearce Jr. and Jackson, leading to the chase.
According to TMZ Sports, the 22-year-old drove away from the scene as police began investigating. However, he swiftly crashed his vehicle, allowing police to take him into custody. Apparent footage on social media went viral as it seemingly took several officers to pin down the linebacker for the arrest.
Pearce Jr. now faces multiple charges, including two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, aggravated stalking, and fleeing/eluding police. In light of the issue, the Falcons issued a brief statement on their star linebacker.
“We are aware of an incident involving James Pearce Jr. in Miami. We are in the process of gathering more information and will not have any further comment on an open legal matter at this time.”
The team initially picked up Pearce Jr. as the 26th selection in the first round of 2025 NFL draft. Noted as a top defensive end, he recently placed third in the 2025 Defensive Rookie of the Year voting.
As for Jackson, she currently plays as a forward for the Los Angeles Sparks, picked up by the team during the WNBA’s 2024 draft. The duo appeared together throughout most of 2025, but Jackson previously announced their split in September of that year, according to On3.
Although the investigation remains ongoing, some sources have claimed that Pearce Jr. attempted to crash his vehicle into Jackson’s own car. Fox Sports anchor Andy Slater shared that Pearce Jr. reportedly did so to prevent Jackson from going to a police station.
SLATER SCOOP: James Pearce Jr. is accused of intentionally crashing his Lamborghini into his ex-girlfriend’s car multiple times, trying to stop her from getting to a police station, law-enforcement sources tell me.
That alleged incident led to cops chasing the NFL star. https://t.co/0fu2EfzCjh
— Andy Slater (@AndySlater) February 8, 2026
Slater also reported that the crash sparked the chase between Pearce Jr. and police. The athlete remains detained in Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
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