Police arrest former NFL player Alonzo Spellman
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Alonzo Spellman, a former National Football League player, was arrested Tuesday in Tulsa, Oklahoma after a twenty minute car chase with police. Officers used "spike sticks" that flattened three tires on Spellman's car, but he refused to get out until officers fired pepper-spray pellets into the vehicle.
Spellman was hospitalized and had to attend psychiatric evaluations after being involved in a police standoff at the home of his publicist in 1998. In 2003 he was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to interfering with the crew of a Delta Air Lines flight from Cincinnati to Philadelphia.
Spellman, a six-foot, 300 pound first round draft pick out of Ohio State made his NFL debut in 1992 with the Chicago Bears. He was also a team member of the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys, recording 43 sacks in 123 games. Spellman agreed to a contract with the Las Vegas Gladiators of the Arena Football League (AFL) in October of 2005.
Sources
[edit]- Associated Press. "Tulsa police arrest former NFL player Alonzo Spellman after 20-minute chase" — The Canadian Press, January 30, 2008
- Associated Press. "Tulsa police arrest former Cowboy Alonzo Spellman" — KRISTV, January 30, 2008
- Bill Lumpkin. "Former NFL Veteran Spellman Arrested After Police Chase" — AHN, January 30, 2008
- Associated Press. "Former NFL player Spellman arrested" — Sports Illustrated, January 29, 2008