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United States News Title: 9 MSU players charged with assault in fracas; 3 more suspended Posted: 4:11 p.m. Dec. 9, 2009 | Updated: 5:51 p.m. today 9 MSU players charged with assault in fracas; 3 more suspended By BEN SCHMITT and SHANNON SHELTON FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS Seven members of the Michigan State football team and two former members were charged today with assault and conspiracy in last month's altercation at an MSU dormitory. According to the MSU police and Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III, all nine players were charged with the one-year misdemeanor of conspiracy to commit an assault and battery during a Nov. 22 fight at Rather Hall. • Exclusive inside account: How the MSU fight happened. Here's the breakdown of further charges: • Former safety Roderick Jenrette, 3 counts of assault or assault and battery • Former running back Glenn Winston, 2 counts of assault or assault and battery • Running back Ashton Leggett, 2 counts of assault or assault and battery • Wide receiver Fred Smith, 1 count of assault or assault and battery • Wide receiver B.J. Cunningham, 1 count of assault or assault and battery • Defensive end Jamiihr Williams, 1 count of assault or assault and battery • Wide receiver Mark Dell, 1 count of assault or assault and battery • Offensive lineman J'Michael Deane, 1 count of assault or assault and battery • Cornerback Chris L. Rucker, 1 count of assault or assault and battery Those misdemeanors carry a maximum of 93 days in jail. “I am confident that everybody charged with assault allegedly committed an assault, whether it involved a battery or not,” said Dunnings. He explained, "You can assault someone by putting them in immediate fear of a battery without touching them.” Jenrette and Winston were kicked off the team by coach Mark Dantonio last month. Smith, Cunningham, Williams, Dell, Leggett and Rucker have been suspended for the Alamo Bowl on Jan. 2. Deane, a new name in the case, is a backup offensive lineman. He was suspended for the Alamo Bowl today, as were backup receivers Chris D. Rucker and Donald Spencer. It's the first time any of the three has been connected to the case. Backup defensive tackle and Ishmyl Johnson and linebacker Brynden Trawick, who were previously suspended by Dantonio in relation to the altercation, were not charged today. However, they will remain suspended for the bowl game, the university said. MSU spokesman Terry Denbow issued a release that said, “We reiterate our full support for the police investigation as it continues, and fully support the standards, cooperation, and decisions of coach Mark Dantonio and the athletics department.” MSU Police Chief James Dunlap told the Free Press that 15 people were on the scene in Rather Hall who were not a part of the potluck dinner held by Iota Phi Theta. Thirteen have been identified, nine have been charged and two more have not been identified. "Those nine are charged with assault and battery,” he said. “In order to charge assault and battery, you have to have a battery, which is intentional touching." As for reports of assailants wearing ski masks, Dunlap said one person was wearing a knit cap that covered his head and chin, but the face was visible. It wasn't a mask that only revealed eyes and a nose. Dunlap said police would not release their report nor a video from Rather Hall because their investigation is ongoing. Dell’s father, Mark Dell Sr. of Southfield, said he was bracing for the charges because the incident has garnered such a large amount of publicity. But Dell Sr. maintained that his son, a wide receiver, did not strike anyone. “I have to get a lawyer and I really want to see the police report,” Dell Sr. told the Free Press. “I still don’t understand how nine players get charged in this. Mark was just there. He didn’t hit anyone.” Dell Sr. said he was also confident his son would not be permanently removed from the football team. “I just don’t think Mark played much of a role in this,” he said. “I’m going to have to get a lawyer.” On the night of Nov. 22, about 90 minutes after MSU’s season-ending banquet at the Kellogg Center, witnesses said 15 to 20 men stormed into an Iota Phi Theta potluck, held across the street at Rather Hall. Witnesses told police that some of the men assaulted and injured some of the attendees, including some women. An attendee, junior Brent Mitchell, said some wore ski masks. He also said he went to the hospital after being punched in the face. According to Mitchell and Dell Sr., the altercation lasted about a minute. Iota Phi Theta is one of nine historically black fraternities and sororities at MSU. It does not have its own house, so it often holds events in dorms. Last week, the national president of Iota Phi Theta, Karl Price, said he had been told by MSU members that the football team had an ongoing feud with the fraternity. The incident at Rather Hall followed an incident the previous night involving Winston at Small Planet, a nightclub in nearby Bath Township where the Iotas were having a party. Police said last week that between 700 and 800 people had crammed into the club. Police arrived at the club after receiving tips of fights breaking out inside and overcrowding. Departments from surrounding jurisdictions were called in to help. Price said a fight broke out at Small Planet after someone knocked Winston to the floor. “Mr. Winston was embarrassed by it, sort of like his manhood was attacked,” said Price, who lives in Louisville, Ky. “That prompted him to leave the event and go to the community service event the next night. That’s when they rushed in, and wanted to hit, targeting the Iotas that were there.” Winston, 20, served four months in jail last summer for a misdemeanor aggravated assault on MSU hockey player AJ Sturges in a 2008 incident. Dantonio allowed him back on the team at the start of preseason drills. Dantonio addressed the altercation in a news conference Saturday. “I am very, very disappointed,” Dantonio said. “I am extremely disappointed. We talk all of time about our choices as people and about making the right choice. I think it’s a very traumatic experience for this program. We’ve got to be able to get past this situation. I also think it’s extremely devastating for the families that were involved in this. ... A lot of people are reeling. My heart goes to those people for what they are going through as well.” Contact BEN SCHMITT: 313-223-4296 or bcschmitt@freepress.com
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#1. To: Ibluafartsky (#0)
Local Lansing/Jackson/Onondaga television WILX indicated the official count isn't in yet and perhaps 2-3 more are to follow...
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