Ex-Kansas City Chiefs player found dead in Leavenworth prison while awaiting trial

Saousoalii “Junior” Siavii, a former Chiefs defensive tackle, passed away after being discovered unconscious in a Leavenworth jail on Thursday afternoon. He was awaiting trial on federal criminal charges pertaining to narcotics trafficking and unlawful possession of a handgun. Siavii, 43, was discovered unconscious at the U.S. Penitentiary at Leavenworth at approximately 2:35 p.m., according to a statement from U.S. Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman Anna Armijo. After receiving care from jail personnel, he was transferred to a nearby hospital and later declared deceased.

Not much information regarding his death’s circumstances was made public right away. According to Armijo, “the public was never in danger” and no staff members or other prisoners suffered injuries.

Siavii was sent on December 17 to the medium-security prison in Leavenworth, which has had a number of prisoner moves recently due to the termination of a government contract with a nearby private institution operated by CoreCivic. Since 2019, Siavii has been detained under federal detention orders.

Siavii was taken into custody in August 2019 after a fight with Independence police officers on suspicion of possessing an illegal handgun. Siavii was later identified in a criminal indictment as a participant in a methamphetamine drug trafficking scheme in the Western District of Missouri. He was accused with eight additional defendants.

Siavii declared himself unblockable in the run game before he ever put on a uniform when the Chiefs selected him with the 36th overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft.

That was not how it worked out. Before knee issues ended his NFL career, he only recorded 15 tackles and one sack in two seasons. He rejoined the league after three seasons away, spending one year each in Dallas and Seattle.

Siavii was raised in American Samoa, where he completed his high school education before relocating to the US to play junior college football. Eventually, he arrived in Oregon, where Chiefs scouts were drawn to him because of his height (6-foot-5, 320 pounds) that stood out on film.