3 incoming UCLA football players arrested on campus on suspicion of felony theft

Theft arrests for 3 incoming UCLA football players

LOS ANGELES — Three incoming UCLA football players have been arrested on suspicion of felony theft, officials and public records said Saturday.

Joshua Shirley, Shaquille Richardson and Paul Richardson — all 18-year-old freshmen enrolled in the school’s summer session — were arrested on the UCLA campus Wednesday, booked at a Los Angeles County jail and released early Thursday morning, sheriff’s department records showed.

Shaquille Richardson and Paul Richardson posted $20,000 bail each and Shirley was released without posting bail, the records showed.

The three were arrested by UCLA police officers, sheriff’s spokeswoman Aura Sierra said Saturday.

A UCLA police watch commander said he had no immediate information on the arrests or the alleged crimes, and a UCLA athletics spokesman offered no details.

“We’re aware of the situation, we’re looking into it and we’ll have a comment at the appropriate time,” athletics spokesman Marc Dellins said.

Police and sheriff’s deputies did not know whether any of the men had hired attorneys.

The three men were all Southern California natives and regional stars for their local high schools last year.

Shirley, a linebacker from Kaiser High School in Fontana, was an especially coveted recruit who flirted with attending Southern California before signing on with coach Rick Neuheisel and the Bruins in February.

In January he recovered a blocked field-goal try and raced 77 yards for a touchdown to help give the West a victory over the East at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio.

Shaquille Richardson was a cornerback who attended Los Alamitos High School and Paul Richardson was a wide receiver at Serra High School in Gardena.