Jets defensive end Sheldon Richardson pleaded not guilty to resisting arrest and other traffic-related charges on Monday. According to The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, which cites Richardson's attorney, Richardson will appear in court on Oct. 5. At that time, a plea agreement or a new court date will be announced.
Under Missouri law, resisting arrest is a misdemeanor that is punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
All charges stem from a high-speed race on Highway 40 in Missouri on July 14, when police allege that Richardson was caught driving as fast as 143 mph. At the time, St. Charles County Prosecutor Tim Lohmar said that Richardson drove away from officers, exited the freeway, and then sped through a traffic light.
When Richardson was arrested, police said that two other men and a 12-year-old child were also inside the car. Police also said that they found a gun in the car and smelled an odor of burned marijuana. According to The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, prosecutors said that they didn't have enough evidence to charge Richardson with drug possession or child endangerment.
As NJ.com points out, Oct. 5 is the same day that Richardson can make his return to the Jets. Richardson is currently suspended for the first four games of the regular season for violating the league's substances of abuse policy, something that is completely unrelated to the car incident from this summer.
Richardson has 11.5 sacks in his first two seasons in the NFL.
