New York Jets defensive lineman
Sheldon Richardson was charged Thursday with resisting arrest and various traffic violations in connection with an apparent high-speed road race on Highway 40 (Interstate 64) on July 14, authorities said.
St. Charles County Prosecutor Tim Lohmar said Richardson, 24, a St. Louis native and former University of Missouri star, was
driving a 2014 Bentley Silver Spur that was clocked by police as going as fast as 143 mph.
He said as officers attempted to stop Richardson's car and the other vehicle along the highway, Richardson increased his speed, drove off the highway, and sped through a traffic light to try to get away.
Officers ended up arresting him when he pulled into the driveway of a home in a nearby neighborhood. Lohmar said Richardson then complied with the officers' demand to get out of the vehicle.
Two other men and a 12-year-old child also were in Richardson's car; they were not charged.
Richardson already was in trouble with the NFL before this incident. The league announced July 2 that
he had been suspended without pay for the first four games of the upcoming regular season for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy.
Lohmar said
resisting arrest is a misdemeanor which carries a potential penalty of up to a year in jail and or a $1,000 fine.
Court records said Richardson also is charged with exceeding the speed limit, following too closely, failing to use lights and failing to obey a traffic signal.
Court records listed Richardson's address as in the 200 block of Fairway Green in O'Fallon.
Authorities did not say whether the other driver in the apparent road race was arrested.