Former Seattle Seahawks player Chad Wheeler received a state prison sentence of 81 months on Friday for first degree assault and domestic violence.
According to ESPN, the sentence was delivered in Washington's King County Superior Court after Wheeler's conviction in November for first-degree and second-degree assault, which Wheeler pled not guilty to. Prosecutors asked the court to give Wheeler a minimum of 108 months per standard sentencing. In addition to his 81 month sentence, Wheeler was given 36 months of probation, along with an order to undergo mental evaluation and pay restiution for an amount that has yet to be determined.
In January of 2021, Wheeler was arrested and accused of choking and pinning down his his ex-girlfriend, Alleah Taylor, who says she lost consciousness twice during the incident. Wheeler, who has bipolar disorder, claimed that he was experiencing a manic episode during the assault, which left Taylor with a fractured humerus and a dislocated elbow.
According to KIRO 7 News Seattle, it took several officers and their tasers to arrest Wheeler, who's 6'7 and 300 pounds. “Before you tried to kill me, I would have done anything for you. You weren’t honest with me and it almost cost me my life,” Taylor reportedly said in court.
Wheeler made his NFL debut in 2017 with the New York Giants before joining the Seahawks from 2019 to 2020. After the assault, he was waived from the Seahawks and has not been signed to another NFL team.
