BY GINA G. SCALA

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

A former Rutgers University football star is slated to appear in a Washington, D.C. court tomorrow on multiple gun-related charges stemming from a recent police chase; he is the third National Football League player to be arrested in just three days last month.

Joe Lefeged, an Indianapolis Colts safety, was remanded to jail by D.C. Superior Court Judge Ann O’Regan Keary until his preliminary hearing July 2. He was arrested early June 29 in Northeast D.C. Following a car chase with police. Law enforcement attempted to stop the vehicle after seeing the backseat passenger standing straight up in the convertible.

Lefeged was riding in the front passenger seat, where police found a .40-caliber semi-automatic weapon “in plain view, sticking out from under the front passenger seat,” according to the Associated Press.

The Washington Post reported Lefeged has a gun permit in Maryland, but not for the nation’s capital, which has firearm restrictions. The weapon was purchased in February for $900, according to the Washington Post. The receipt for the gun was in the car Lefeged was a passenger in, the newspaper reported.

Police also reportedly found empty orange juicer containers smelling of vodka and smelled marijuana at the top of the stop, according to multiple media reports. Lefeged and the other passenger both jumped out of the car and took off on foot before being caught.

Lefeged signed as an undrafted free agent with the Colts and is slated to begin his third season with the team. He started in four games last season with two tackles and a forced fumble in a playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

“We are aware of the reports regarding Joe Lefeged in Washington, D.C.,” a Colts representative said in a statement. “At this time, we will have no further comment on the pending matter until we gain more information.”

Lefeged is the 31st NFL player to be arrested since the Super Bowl, according to an extensive database of players arrested compiled by U-T San Diego. Former Chicago Bears tight end Evan Rodriguez and former Detroit Lions wide receiver Titus Young were arrested multiple times in almost five months. Young and two others were free agents at the time of their arrests; 28 others were on an NFL roaster.

Former Cleveland Browns Ausar Walcott was charged with attempted murder after allegedly punching a man outside of a New Jersey bar. Walcott was a former Hackensack High School football player who signed with Cleveland in May. The Browns cut their ties with him June 26; one day after he turned himself into police.

Walcott’s first run-in with the law came in January 2011 when he and two University of Virginia teammates were arrested following an altercation at nearby James Madison University. He was suspended from the UVA football team and later re-instated when the assault and battery charges were dropped.

Perhaps, the most disturbing arrest is that of former New England Patriot Aaron Hernandez; who faces murder charges in Massachusetts. He was arrested on murder charges June 27; two days before Lefeged was arrested.

“One is too many,” NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told USA Today. “We have policies and programs that hold all NFL employees accountable and provide them with programs or education and support.”