5 more Michigan State football players arraigned; lawyers, judge spar over bond conditions

Five Michigan State players were arraigned Friday on misdemeanor assault charges stemming from an altercation in the Michigan Stadium tunnel following the Michigan-Michigan State game in late October.

The players, redshirt sophomore Itayvion Brown, junior Angelo Grose, redshirt junior Justin White, senior Brandon Wright and freshman Zion Young, each received $10,000 personal-recognizance bonds, and each are scheduled to appear for a pretrial Dec. 15 hearing before Karen Quinlan Valvo, chief judge of the 15th Judicial District Court in Ann Arbor.

The players and their lawyers appeared virtually Friday morning before Judge Tamara Garwood of 15th Judicial District Court.

Garwood ordered that the players could have contact with each other only for football purposes. Outside of football purposes, they must have their lawyers present. Garwood also ordered that the players have no contact with the Michigan football team, Michigan football coaches or the University of Michigan, an order that didn't sit well with defense lawyers, calling it essentially a ban from visiting Ann Arbor.

"To put these conditions on these kids and treat them as though they are a danger to anyone at the University of Michigan outside of the context of a highly emotional sporting event, when we don't even know the facts of what the impetus was for this, I think is extreme," Wade Fink, lawyer for Brown, said during the arraignment proceedings. "You're talking about a highly emotional situation. There is nothing to suggest that Mr. Brown is a danger to anyone, quite the opposite. He is a gentle, kind, charitable young man who is good to his family, good to his friends, good to his program. I take issue that he is a danger to the University of Michigan, their coaches, their players, outside of the context of a fight that happens all the time.

"I don't remember coach Juwan Howard being prevented from contacting the University of Wisconsin. I'm just a little troubled by the heavy-handedness of it, Judge. But that is your right."

Howard, Michigan's basketball coach, was suspended for the final five games of last regular season following an incident in which he slapped a Wisconsin coach following a game in Madison.

Howard did not face legal charges.

"Juwan Howard did not come in front of me," Garwood said in response to Fink. "Had he come in front of me, had that happened here and he was in front of me, he likely would've ended up with similar conditions."

Lawyers for the Michigan State football players also said the Washtenaw County Prosecutor's office asked Garwood to impose drug and alcohol testing for the five players facing arraignment Friday. Garwood didn't require that, and Washtenaw County prosecutor Eli Savit said that claim is "categorically false." The box for drug and alcohol testing was unchecked on bond forms, Savit said. The conditions the prosecutor's office requested, he said, including no firearms, and no contact with the alleged victims. The office did not ask for a total no-contact order with Michigan players, coaches and the university community, Savit said.

The five Michigan State players in court Friday are each charged with one count of aggravated assault, a misdemeanor which faces possible punishment of one year in prison or a fine of up to $1,000, or both.

A sixth player charged with a misdemeanor, senior Jacoby Windmon, was arraigned earlier this week. A seventh player, redshirt sophomore Khary Crump, faces a felonious assault charge after he was seen on video swinging a helmet at a Michigan player in the immediate aftermath of Michigan's 29-7 win Oct. 29. Crump also was arraigned earlier this week.

The tunnel incident, caught on camera in part by The Detroit News' Matt Charboneau, led to the suspension of eight Michigan State players, and the Big Ten fined Michigan State $100,000.

At least two lawyers for Michigan State players on Friday alleged bias on the part of the prosecutor and the judge, both Michigan alums. Savit has taken some heat this week following a felony-gun charge against Michigan star Mazi Smith filed this week, despite the incident having occurred Oct. 7, the day before a game at Indiana. Smith played in each of Michigan's games this season, and is expected to play in Saturday's Big Ten championship game in Indianapolis.

"This was a football-related incident that never should have been investigated by the police or charged by the Washtenaw County prosecutor," said Jack Kramer, attorney for Wright. "I believe there is implicit bias from the prosecutor's office and the court, which has seeped into these legal proceedings. This is totally inappropriate.

"While I appreciate the magistrate hearing out the attorneys and allowing us to make a record, I believe that she acted inappropriately by suggesting that any of these players pose a threat to the University of Michigan, or the community, which is absolutely not the case," Kramer continued. "I hope that going forward, the prosecutors and judges will set aside their fandom and give our clients a fair shake."

Savit's response: "These cases were charged based on the evidence and the law. There's nothing more to say about that. We've been treating these cases just like any other."

The five Michigan State players arraigned Friday are allowed to travel to their homes, even if out of state.

tpaul@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @tonypaul1984