Lawrence Phillips faces assault trial

Former NFL and CFL running back Lawrence Phillips was ordered to stand trial on assault charges for allegedly driving a car into three teenagers who argued with him following a pickup football game.

After a two-day preliminary hearing, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Samuel Mayerson ruled Wednesday that there was enough evidence to hold Phillips, on seven counts of assault to commit great bodily injury.

Lawrence Phillips has been ordered to stand trial in Los Angeles on assault charges. (CP file photo)

The judge dismissed two counts of child abuse and one count of leaving the scene of an accident stemming from a 2005 incident on a soccer field.

Mayerson said Phillips, 30, got into an argument with several young men after the pickup football game in Exposition Park. He left the park, but returned and drove a black Honda onto the field, allegedly running into a group of young males. Three were hit, including two aged 14 and 15, the district attorney's office said.

"His conduct displayed a certain stupidity and what he did was clearly an assault on these young boys," Mayerson said. "The salient part of the evidence was that the defendant was in a snit when he left the field."

At the time of the alleged incident, he was wanted by police in San Diego for allegedly attacking his girlfriend and choking her into unconsciousness.

Phillips, who has a felony conviction for making criminal threats, faces more than 13 years in prison if convicted of all counts, said Deborah Brazil, a deputy district attorney.

He was being held on $350,000-US bail and is scheduled to be arraignment March 15.

It's the latest brush with the law for Phillips. A star running back with the University of Nebraska, he pleaded no contest while there to domestic violence charges.

Drafted sixth overall by the St. Louis Rams in 1996, the Little Rock, Ark. native was let go 19 months later for insubordination.

Phillips was arrested three times during his time with the Rams.

He then signed with the Dolphins, but was released after pleading no contest to striking a woman in a nightclub.

Phillips made his way to the CFL after stints with the San Francisco 49ers and in NFL Europe. He needed a government permit to play due to his criminal record in the U.S.

Phillips played for Montreal Alouettes in 2002, rushing for 1,022 yards and 13 touchdowns. He was released for failing to meet the club's "minimum behavioural standards" the next season.

He then joined the Calgary Stampeders, gaining 486 yards before being released for arguing with coach Jim Barker.

Later in 2003, he was charged in Montreal with sexual assault and uttering threats in a case police said involved his girlfriend at the time.