Lawrence Phillips - Former pro football player sentenced in LA to prison
10/03/2008
AP
LOS ANGELES — Former pro football player Lawrence Phillips was sentenced today to 10 years in prison after being convicted two years ago of assault with a deadly weapon.
The sentencing had been repeatedly delayed while Phillips fought to withdraw a guilty plea in a domestic abuse case.
Phillips, 33, was convicted in 2006 of seven counts of assault with a deadly weapon.
He has been jailed since August 2005, when he drove onto a field near Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and his car struck three boys, ages 14 and 15, and a 19-year-old man, who suffered cuts and bruises.
The car narrowly missed three other people, prosecutor Todd Hicks said.
Phillips, a running back, was allegedly upset after losing a pickup football game to the youths and accused them of stealing some of his possessions.
"When he gets angry and he feels disrespected, he acts out with blind rage," Hicks said in a telephone interview after the sentencing.
In court, Phillips tearfully apologized to one of the victims.
"I'm sorry that your leg is messed up," Phillips told Rodney Flores, after hearing the young man tell the court that he was unable to pursue his dream of playing high school sports as a result of being hit.
"I'm sorry you have to come in here like this," Phillips said, adding that he "wanted the chance to say I didn't mean to hurt people."
Superior Court Judge George G. Lomeli said Phillips should have thought about what he did.
A call to Phillips' attorney Leslie Ringold was not immediately returned.
Phillips was once one of the nation's top college football players at Nebraska. The St. Louis Rams released him for insubordination in 1997 and he went on to play for a number of teams.
Sentencing was delayed while Phillips tried to withdraw a 2000 guilty plea to hitting a woman he had been dating during a confrontation at the Beverly Hills Hotel, the prosecutor said.
The plea stands as a strike against Phillips under California's "three-strikes" law, which mandates tougher sentences for repeat offenders.
Phillips contended he was coerced into pleading guilty to domestic abuse and making a criminal threat, resulting in a brief prison term and three years probation.
His attempts to withdraw the plea are continuing, Hicks said.
Phillips has a history of trouble with the law, going back a decade to his time as one of the nation's top college football players.
He signed with the Miami Dolphins after being released by the Rams but was later released. Phillips 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 later that year, but was released for missing a practice. He also has played in the Canadian Football League.
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