Falcons Linebacker James Pearce Jr. Arrested After Police Chase Following Alleged Domestic Dispute with WNBA Star

The police chase reportedly erupted after officers arrived to investigate a domestic dispute between Pearce Jr. and Rickea Jackson, his ex-girlfriend.

Falcons rookie James Pearce Jr. was arrested by Miami area police following an alleged domestic dispute.

The 22-year-old tried to evade officers who arrived after receiving a call about a man and a woman, assumed to be Pearce and WNBA star Rickea Jackson, his ex-girlfriend, leading to the chase.

According to TMZ Sports, Pearce drove away from the scene as police began investigating, but crashed his vehicle, allowing police to take him into custody. Footage of what looked to be Pearce’s arrest went viral as it took several officers to pin down the linebacker for the arrest.

Pearce is listed at 6’5″ and weighing 243 pounds.

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Pearce faces two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, aggravated stalking, and fleeing/eluding police.

“We are aware of an incident involving James Pearce Jr. in Miami,” the Atlanta Falcons said in a statement. “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 selected Pearce with the 26th selection in the first round of 2025 NFL draft. He placed third in the 2025 Defensive Rookie of the Year voting.

Jackson is a forward for the Los Angeles Sparks about to start her third season in the WNBA. The duo appeared together throughout most of 2025, but Jackson announced their split that September, according to On3.

Although the investigation remains ongoing, some sources claim Pearce attempted to crash his vehicle into Jackson’s own car. Fox Sports anchor Andy Slater shared that he reportedly did so to prevent Jackson from going to police.

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 the police and Pearce, who is detained in Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.