Why Mizzou Tigers football player JJ Bush was arrested on felony charge this week

JJ Bush, a freshman linebacker on the Mizzou football team, was arrested on a pair of charges on Monday, as first reported by Calum McAndrew of the Columbia Daily Tribune.

Bush has been indefinitely suspended from the team, Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz told the Tribune in a statement Tuesday.

"We are disappointed in JJ's actions," Drinkwitz said in the statement.

Bush was charged with a Class B misdemeanor of careless and imprudent driving and a Class D felony charge of aggravated fleeing a stop or detention of a motor vehicle.

The arresting officer observed Bush traveling, "approximately 80 mph" at 10 p.m. Monday while driving on East Broadway, according to the incident's probable-cause statement.

The officer later said in the statement he activated his emergency lights and sirens and followed Bush for, "approximately 24 seconds." It also stated that Bush told the officer he was traveling between 80 and 90 mph and that he did not realize he was being stopped until checking his speed.

Bush was bonded before the case was filed for $5,000 for the two charges. The Class D felony charge of aggravated fleeing a stop or detention of a motor vehicle in Missouri is punishable by up to seven years in prison or one year in county jail along with a fine ranging up to $10,000. The punishment carries no eligibility for probation, parole, or conditional release until the defendant has served one year of the sentence minimum.

Bush was a four-star linebacker prospect in the class of 2026 from Theodore High School in Alabama. He committed to Mizzou in October after de-committing from Arkansas in September. Bush is listed at 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds.

Copyright 2026 Columbia Missourian

This story was originally published May 7, 2026 at 10:50 AM with the headline "Why Mizzou Tigers football player JJ Bush was arrested on felony charge this week."