Charges Filed Against Phillips; Arraignment Is Set for July 5

Lawrence Phillips, the unsigned No. 1 draft choice of the St. Louis Rams and a former Nebraska running back, has been charged with driving under the influence and driving while having a blood-alcohol count of .08% or higher.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office filed the charges Tuesday, five days after Phillips, who played football at Baldwin Park High, was arrested on the Pomona Freeway while driving a Mercedes-Benz at 78 mph in a 65 mph zone with a flat left front tire. At the Century Sheriff’s Station in Lynwood, Phillips showed .15 and .16 in breath-analyzer tests.

Phillips had just returned from a Ram mini-camp when he was arrested after an evening with friends at a City of Industry nightspot.

He is free on his own recognizance and faces a July 5 arraignment in Rio Hondo Municipal Court, though the district attorney’s office said that could be pushed up through negotiations with Phillips’ attorney.

It was the latest of several legal conflicts for Phillips, who is on probation in Lincoln, Neb., after pleading no contest to misdemeanor charges of assault in connection with his former girlfriend and a teammate.

Lincoln authorities said they would be watching the progress of his case here to determine if conditions of Phillips’ probation have been violated.