The Bobster
Senior News Editor since 2004
Ex-NFL player Junior Siavii found dead in prison while awaiting trial
Siavili, 43, was found unresponsive Thursday in the US Penitentiary in Leavenworth just after 2:30 p.m., US Bureau of Prison spokeswoman Anna Armijo told The Kansas City Star.
nypost.com
Ex-NFL player Junior Siavii found dead in prison while awaiting trial
By
Patrick Reilly
January 14, 2022 10:35pm
Updated
Former NFL defensive tackle Saousoalii “Junior” Siavii died in a Kansas prison while awaiting trial on federal gun and drug trafficking charges, records show.
Siavili, 43, was found unresponsive Thursday in the US Penitentiary in Leavenworth just after 2:30 p.m., US Bureau of Prison spokeswoman Anna Armijo told The Kansas City Star.
No details surrounding the ex-Kansas City Chiefs player’s death were immediately available.
Armijo said no prison staff or inmates were injured and “at no time was the public in danger,” the Star reported.
Siaviii was arrested in August 2019 after police spotted him driving a vehicle that had been reported stolen in the Kansas City suburb of Independence.
Prosecutors said the 6-foot-5, 315-pound Siavii fought off officers, who tased him twice during the confrontation. He was finally subdued and cuffed after an officer performed a neck restraint on Siavii until he went unconscious.
He was found was in possession of a gun, ammunition, methamphetamine and marijuana.
USP Leavenworth Prison where Junior Siavii died while in custody.Federal Bureau of Prisons 
Saousoalii “Junior” Siavii was arrested in August 2019 after police spotted him driving a vehicle that had been reported stolen in Kansas City. AP / City of Independence Missouri Police Department Siaviii was later indicted with eight others accused of being part of a meth drug trafficking ring in western Missouri, according to the Star.
He had also been arrested twice before while in possession of illegal drugs and loaded firearms, according to the criminal complaint.
Siaviii had just been transferred to the medium-security prison in Leavenworth on Dec. 17, the Star reported.
Savii, a native of American Samoa, was drafted 36th overall 2004 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs out of the University of Oregon.
He was cut from the team in 2006, but later signed with the Dallas Cowboys in 2008, where he intermittently spent time until 2010.
In 2011, he was claimed off waivers by the Seattle Seahawks and a career-high in tackles before he was injured and was released that same year.