Ex-college football player accused of robbing roommate
(NewsNation) — Police are searching for a man accused of holding his roommate at gunpoint before robbing him and putting him in the trunk of a car.
Ring video of the incident showed a man police have identified as 29-year-old former Midwestern State University football player Joshua DeLoach holding a gun and telling someone off camera to get on their knees.
That person was DeLoach’s roommate, 31-year-old former Texas State University football player Justin Iwuji.
Iwuji had recently asked DeLoach to move out of their Houston townhome and said the encounter caught him off guard.
“He forces me to give him the password to my phone. He Cashapps himself two increments of $3,000 a piece, so $6k total, forces me to open up my safe, (from) which he then takes some jewelry and my firearm that was in there,” Iwuji told NewsNation.
The former Texas State player was forced into his shower, blindfolded and asked if he had any last words.
The ordeal then turned into a kidnapping when DeLoach shoved Iwuji into the trunk of a Range Rover and drove more than 30 miles.
“He also duck taped my ankles together, put duck tape around my mouth and neck,” Iwuji said.
While the car was parked, Iuwji managed to free himself and sprinted in front of a moving pickup truck. The driver took him to police.
“When someone has the thought process of putting a chair into your shower, putting a comforter over the chair as if they plan to shoot you and wrap you up … I truly did fear for my life,” Iwuji said.
DeLoach faces charges of aggravated robbery and aggravated kidnapping, according to the Houston Police Department.
Officials have asked anyone with information about DeLoach to contact the police department at 713-308-8800.