UCLA football: Three players arrested for theft released from letters of intent

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Paul Richardson, Shaquille Richardson and Joshua Shirley, the three UCLA football players arrested on suspicion of theft in June, have had their letters of intent ruled null and void.

The three are free to be recruited by other schools and can play immediately.

The three could face felony charges for allegedly stealing a female student’s backpack with contents worth about $1,200. At the time, they were told that they could no longer attend summer school at UCLA and could not enroll in the fall. Whether they could enroll in the winter quarter would be ‘determined at a later date,’ Coach Rick Neuheisel said.

The three were to remain bound by their letters of intent, school officials said at the time. On Tuesday, UCLA’s sports information department sent out a release saying the three were released from their letters.

Paul Richardson is a wide receiver from Gardena Serra High School, Shaquille Richardson is a defensive back from Los Alamitos High School and Shirley is a linebacker from Fontana Kaiser.

--Chris Foster