WASHINGTON — Former NFL player Sergio Brown was arrested in Southern California in connection with the death of his mother, authorities said, as he tried to reenter the United States from Mexico.
Law enforcement officials began looking for Brown in September after his 73-year-old mother's body was found near a creek behind her suburban Chicago home.
Officers found Myrtle Brown's body, and a medical examiner determined that she had been injured during an assault. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled her death a homicide, according to local media reports.
According to online arrest records, 35-year-old Sergio Brown was booked into the San Diego Central Jail Tuesday afternoon following a "fugitive arrest."
Brown agreed to be extradited to Illinois during a Wednesday court hearing, San Diego District Attorney's office spokesperson Steve Walker told The Associated Press in an email.
Authorities in Illinois have until Nov. 13 to retrieve Brown, Walker said.
It was unclear the exact charges against Brown, however a warrant for his arrest cited first-degree murder, according to a news release from Maywood, Illinois police.
Maywood police announced Wednesday that Brown was arrested after he attempted to reenter the United States from Mexico, WMAQ-TV reported.
According to a law enforcement source cited by CNN, Brown has been in Mexico since at least Sept. 19. The source told CNN that he was deported Tuesday and taken into custody by U.S. law enforcement near the California-Mexico border.
Days after Myrtle Brown's body was found, police were investigating the authenticity of Instagram videos that appeared to show Sergio Brown calling reports about the death of his 73-year-old mother “fake news.”
An initial court date was set for Brown in a San Diego court for Wednesday morning, but no information about that court appearance has been released. It is unclear from the records if Brown has a lawyer representing him.
Sergio Brown entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He signed with the New England Patriots and played defensive back on the team until he was waived prior to the start of the 2012 NFL season.
He signed with the Colts on Sept. 1, 2012, and played in Indianapolis until 2014. He then played for the Jacksonville Jaguars for one season before joining the Atlanta Falcons practice squad in August 2016. His stint with the Falcons lasted seven days.
He played his final NFL games with the Buffalo Bills during the 2016 season.