LOS ANGELES -- Former NFL running back Lawrence Phillips,
who was wanted by police for domestic violence, was arrested Sunday
after allegedly running the car he was driving into three teenagers who argued
with him during a pickup football game, police said.
Phillips was charged with suspicion of attempted murder and
domestic abuse and held without bail, according to the Los Angeles
County Sheriff's Web site.
Police had been seeking the 30-year-old Phillips since earlier
this month for allegedly attacking his girlfriend twice, once
choking her into unconsciousness.
The teenagers were taken to a local hospital with non-life
threatening injuries, police said.
The car Phillips was driving was reported stolen in San Diego
earlier in the week, Escalante said.
Phillips was arrested and held on the domestic violence felony
warrant. Charges are pending in the Sunday incident, she said.
San Diego Police had offered a $1,000 reward for information
leading to Phillips' whereabouts, and said he had indicated he
wouldn't surrender peacefully.
The first domestic assault, in which police say Phillips'
28-year-old girlfriend was choked, allegedly occurred Aug. 2 at her
San Diego home. Police said the second assault allegedly took place
11 days later when Phillips confronted the woman at a party.
In both cases he left the scene before officers could arrest
him.
Police have said Phillips is also wanted on an outstanding
felony warrant from Los Angeles for an unrelated domestic violence
case.
The former University of Nebraska star has a history of
high-profile trouble with the law going back a decade to his time
as one of the nation's top college football players.
He was drafted sixth overall in 1996 by the St. Louis Rams
despite pleading no contest to a charge of domestic violence in a
confrontation with a girlfriend. He was released for
insubordination in 1997 after 25 games with the Rams.
Phillips signed with the Miami Dolphins later in the 1997
season, but was released after pleading no contest to hitting a
woman in a nightclub.
He was the top offensive player in NFL Europe in 1999 after
setting league records for rushing and touchdowns with the
Barcelona Dragons.
He signed with the San Francisco 49ers in 1999, but was released
for missing a practice. He later played in the Canadian Football
League.