Oregon freshman wide receiver Messiah Hampton was arrested and booked in the Lane County Jail on charges of reckless driving and eluding police, according to jail records and a later confirmation from the Springfield Police Department. The Oregonian/Oregon Live was first to report the arrest.
Police say the case traces back to a high-speed chase on Oct. 18 in Springfield, in the early morning hours after Oregon’s win over Nebraska at Autzen Stadium. During that incident, Springfield police chased two vehicles before calling off the pursuit for safety reasons.
One of those vehicles was later abandoned and discovered near the area where Oregon wide receiver Evan Stewart was eventually arrested and charged with a DUII. Springfield police say Stewart is not believed to be a suspect in this case.
“Mr. Hampton has been identified as the driver of one of the vehicles,” Springfield Police Deputy Chief George Crolly told The Oregonian. “We are still working to identify the driver of the other vehicle.”
Hampton was released from the Lane County Jail at 7:22 p.m. PT on Friday night.
Another Oregon player, tight end Jamari Johnson, was cited for speeding that same night, though Crolly said he also is not believed to be a suspect in the case.
On Friday night, Hampton showed up late on Oregon’s Big Ten Availability Report and was listed as out for Saturday’s game against Northwestern. It marked the second straight week he had been listed as out after appearing on the Friday night report.
Ducks Wire reached out to the University of Oregon for comment but had not received a response.
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Oregons already thin offensive depth took another jolt this week when freshman wide receiver Messiah Hampton was arrested by Springfield police on charges that include two felony counts of attempting to elude police and one misdemeanor count of reckless driving. The arrest stems from a high-speed chase on Oct. 18, and it comes at a time when the Ducks are trying to piece together an offense that has already been dealing with injuries and the disruption of coaching changes.
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