Former NFL player Dantrell Savage charged with no business license

Former NFL player Dantrell Savage, 30, was arrested Thursday evening outside of his Hamilton Road establishment after he allegedly refused to produce a business license. 

Savage, 30, of Columbus was charged with no business license and placed in the Muscogee County Jail. He was released the same day on a $347 bond.

An officer said he saw three individuals loitering in the parking lot adjacent from the 3226 Hamilton Road business.

The officer said he was in the process of making contact with the group when two of the people went into the building. Police spoke with the owner, Savage, who told the officer he had to tend to a client.

When police asked Savage several times to produce his business license, he allegedly refused to produce one. He was arrested 5 p.m. Thursday outside of the business.

This is the second time in less than two months that Savage, who owns Savage Fitness Evolution on 33rd Street, has been charged in Columbus.

Savage was arrested in late October after police found 28 grams of methamphetamine, multiple digital scales and $45,968 in cash at the gym. Police said it was the same 33rd Street business where a confidential informant conducted two separate buys with Jessie James Smith, a man who identified himself as an employee with the gym.

Savage was charged with possession of meth with the intent to distribute and possession of drug-related objects in relation to the incident. Smith faced the same charges in addition to two counts of selling methamphetamine.

They both pleaded not guilty to their drug-related charges in Recorder's Court, and the case was bound over to Superior Court.

According to previous Ledger-Enquirer reports, Savage was signed to the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma State. He played with the Chiefs for two seasons, mostly serving on special teams before getting cut in March 2010.

Savage, a Jordan High graduate, was signed to the Carolina Panthers in August 2010 but cut before the 2010-11 season started.

— Sarah is a crime and safety reporter at The Ledger-Enquirer. You can contact her on Twitter at @SarahR_92.

This story was originally published December 21, 2015 at 5:27 PM with the headline "Former NFL player Dantrell Savage charged with no business license ."