Joe Lefeged, a third-year safety with the Indianapolis Colts, was arrested Saturday morning on gun charges in D.C. after attempting to flee police following a traffic stop. According to police, Lefeged was riding in a Chevrolet Camaro that sped after being stopped shortly after midnight; officers later found a semiautomatic handgun under the passenger seat.
Lefeged, 25, was arraigned Saturday afternoon in D.C. Superior Court and is being held without bond pending a preliminary hearing Tuesday. He was charged with carrying a pistol without a license, possession of an unregistered handgun, unlawful possession of ammunition, having a gun in a car, and carrying an open container of alcohol. Police found a bottle containing vodka and orange juice in the Camaro.
A second passenger in the car, 23-year-old Timothy Wilson, was also arrested and charged with the same offenses, according to D.C. court records.
According to The Washington Post, the incident began when officers from a Metropolitan Police Department robbery squad were on a stop on the 4600 block of Central Avenue NE and saw the Camaro speed by faster than the neighborhood’s posted speed limit.
The court charging documents say the officers, in plain clothes but wearing badges draped around their necks, stopped the Camaro and told the driver that they were conducting a traffic stop. Police said he answered, “For what?”
One officer then smelled marijuana, according to the court papers. Authorities said the driver again asked, “Why are you stopping me?” Police said an officer ordered the driver to put the vehicle in park.
“The driver of the vehicle then stepped on the gas and accelerated,” nearly hitting some of the four officers who were surrounding the vehicle, the documents say.
Police chased the fleeing Camaro, eventually catching up with it about half a mile away on the 4200 block of Blaine Street NE. Court documents say Lefeged and Wilson briefly attempted to flee on foot.
The Post reports that police found a .40-caliber Heckler & Koch pistol along with a receipt from February for the $900 semiautomatic pistol.
Lefeged, who grew up in Gaithersburg, first rose to football stardom playing at Northwest High School in Germantown. He attended Rutgers University, where he was a starting strong safety and kick returner for three years. Lefeged entered the NFL in 2011 after signing with the Colts as an undrafted free agent. He played in all 16 regular-season games last year, accumulating 25 tackles.
