Ex-Wisconsin player Jack Ikegwuonu arrested for multiple armed robberies
Former Wisconsin cornerback Jack Ikegwuonu and his twin brother, William, were arrested Wednesday for allegedly committing multiple armed robberies in Madison and nearby Middleton over a period that lasted nearly two weeks last month, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.
According to Madison police, the brothers were arrested shortly after a robbery at a cleaners in Middleton. Both later confessed to committing the five robberies dating to Nov. 13.
“The investigation indicates much of the money taken during these crimes was being used to purchase heroin,” Madison police spokesman Joel DeSpain said in a news release.
Jack Ikegwuonu played cornerback for the Badgers from 2005-07 and was a fourth-round NFL draft pick of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2008. He appeared in only one game for the Eagles in 2009. William played football for Northern Illinois, and both brothers were standout athletes at Madison Memorial High.
According to a search warrant filed Monday in Dane County Circuit Court, police were able to find the SUV allegedly used in the robberies via a GPS device attached to the vehicle a day before the final robbery. The search warrant also states that the brothers had been involved in drug activity "for several years."
Both brothers have had previous run-ins with the law. In 2009, both were acquitted of allegedly breaking into a home in DeKalb, Ill., in November 2006. In 2011, Jack Ikegwuonu was charged with retail theft for allegedly stealing a pair of shoes from a Madison store where William worked. He pleaded no contest to disorderly conduct and was fined. Jack was also arrested in 2012 for possessing drug paraphernalia in a parked car in Madison. That charge was later reduced.
- Mike Fiammetta
