A King County judge sentenced former Seattle Seahawks reserve tackle Chad Wheeler to six years and nine months in prison for attacking his girlfriend in 2021 at their Kent apartment.
King County Superior Court Judge Joe Campagna sentenced Wheeler Friday, March 1 at the King County Courthouse in Seattle, according to court documents. A jury convicted Wheeler in November 2023 of first-degree domestic violence assault and second-degree domestic violence assault.
Campagna denied a request by Wheeler’s attorneys for an exceptional sentence, which would be less than the state minimum requirements. The judge vacated the second-degree assault, which means it won’t go on Wheeler’s record.
Wheeler will begin his sentence immediately with the state Department of Corrections. When released, he will be on community custody for three years.
Prosecutors sought a minimum sentence of five years for Wheeler.
Kent Police arrested Wheeler Jan. 22, 2021 after the reported attack in the apartment. He was booked into the King County jail on Jan. 23, 2021 and released three days later after he posted bail, which was set at $400,000. A judge ordered Wheeler to remain in the King County area (King, Pierce and Snohomish counties) while on electronic home detention.
According to court documents, Wheeler attacked his then girlfriend at about 9:46 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 22, 2021 in their Kent unit at the Berkeley Heights Apartments, 22804 90th Way S., that they shared since November 2020. Officers responded to multiple 911 calls, including one from Wheeler’s girlfriend who reported that she was being “killed.”
Officers arrived at the apartment and heard screaming from inside. Officers forced their way into the apartment and saw a pool of blood on a bed comforter adjacent to a bathroom, where they found Wheeler and his then girlfriend. Her face was covered in blood and her left arm limp at her side, according to court documents.
Wheeler was standing behind her and said, “Sorry, I don’t beat women,” as officers tried to detain him. Wheeler, who is 6 feet 7 inches and at the time of the attack weighed 310 pounds, battled with officers to stop them from handcuffing him, according to court documents. He fought off three officers in the bathroom and was only detained after officers used hand strikes and fired Tasers at him.
Paramedics transported the woman to Valley Medical Center in Renton. She suffered a fractured left arm and dislocated elbow. She had experienced chest pain and had difficulty breathing. She also had a swollen face.
The woman told police she believed Wheeler suffered from bi-polar disorder and had not been taking his medication.
Alleah Taylor, Wheeler’s then girlfriend, told “CBS This Morning,” in a February 2021 exclusive interview when she revealed her name to the public, that she is “beyond grateful” to be alive.
“I really feel like God has blessed me with another chance,” Taylor said in the interview. “And I wanna try to use the time I’ve been blessed with… to help other people. And to get the story out. And make sure people don’t feel alone. And that this doesn’t happen again.”
Taylor said she blacked out twice before the attack was over.
“I had touched my face,” Taylor said. “And I looked down, and there was, there’s blood on my hand…I remember getting up and running to the bathroom. Chad was standing by the bed, by the doorway. And he was sipping his smoothie and was, like, ‘Wow, you’re, you’re still alive.’”
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