Former Pitt defensive back Paris Ford has turned himself in to the Allegheny County Jail on Wednesday, ending a week-long search by county police.
Ford has been wanted since March 21 on charges of discharging of a firearm into an occupied structure, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment, stemming from an alleged March 15 incident in Clairton, Pa. Allegheny County Police first publicized their pursuit of Ford on Tuesday.
Court documents list Ford as being held on $50,000 bail, which had not been posted as of early Wednesday afternoon. He has a preliminary hearing scheduled for April 9 in front of magistrate Armand Martin. Court documents do not list an attorney for Ford.
Allegheny County 911 received a report of shots fired at 11:40 a.m. on Monday, March 15. Police eventually apprehended three men that fled the scene, and identified Ford through video footage and a prescription bottle with his name on it discovered in a vehicle that led police on a chase through several South Hills jurisdictions. Police also recovered a handgun that is registered to Ford.
In addition to Ford, police have charged 26-year-old Jaylin Howard of Detroit, Mich. with persons not to possess a firearm and 25-year-old Donye Felton of Penn Hills, Pa. with carrying a firearm without a license and fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer. They released the third individual taken into custody.
Paris Ford (12) carries the ball during the annual NCAA football spring Blue Gold game, Saturday, April 14, 2018 — DAVID HAGUE
Ford starred in high school for Seton LaSalle as sophomore and junior, but especially as a senior for Steel Valley in 2016. The Ironmen finished undefeated and won the WPIAL and PIAA Titles in Class-2A.
He committed to Pitt in 2015 and came in as a four-star and one of the top players in the state in the Class of 2016. After redshirting in 2017, Ford played the next three seasons for the Panthers. He played in 29 games, including all 13 in 2019 at safety. Ford also played the first seven games of 2020, but following a blowout loss to then ranked No. 3 Notre Dame at home on Oct. 24, he chose to depart the team and declare for the NFL draft.
No NFL team selected him in the 2021 Draft and he signed with the Los Angeles Rams as a UDFA, before they soon released him.
He played with the New Jersey Generals in the USFL for the past two seasons, but when the league merged with the XFL to become the UFL after last year, they were one of four USFL teams contracted and they folded, leaving Ford without a team.
Dominic Campbell contributed to this report.
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