On Friday, Jan. 10, it was reported by KEZI that former Oregon wide receiver Ryan Pellum had been arrested on a nationwide extraditable warrant for pistol-whipping a person on Christmas Day. Pellum, who entered the transfer portal after the Ducks' loss in the Rose Bowl, had yet to commit to a new program.
In the report, Pellum "allegedly caused an injury to the victim’s head that required stitches" and "then allegedly fired two rounds in an unknown direction."
An Oregon Ducks football player who is accused of pistol-whipping a person in California on Christmas Day was arrested in Springfield this week on a warrant from his hometown of Long Beach, California. https://t.co/kd38hXK1PP
— KEZI 9 NEWS (@KEZI9) January 10, 2025
Pellum was reportedly arrested in Springfield, OR – a town that neighbors Eugene where the University of Oregon is located – but the initial arrest warrant was written up in Pellum's hometown of Long Beach, CA.
The report goes on to say that Pellum "allegedly told police that he knew he had a warrant in California because people were calling him about it, but he didn’t elaborate further, according to court records."
KEZI elaborated that Pellum was not being held in the Lane County (home to both Eugene and Springfield) Jail and that his bail (the amount of which was unknown) had been posted by an unknown individual on Thursday, Jan. 9 after the former Oregon Duck had waived extradition.
Pellum is reportedly due back in court on Jan. 23 and the state of California has until that date to pick him up from the state of Oregon.
Pellum's complete legal name is Ryan Tristan Chance Taylor but he had signed with the Ducks in 2023 under the official name of "Ryan Pellum" after initially committing to the USC Trojans. His uncle, Don Pellum, played linebacker for the Oregon Ducks in the 1980s.