Williams
Three MSU football players were charged with unarmed robbery Wednesday in connection with an alleged incident outside an East Lansing supermarket in April.
Starting senior linebacker SirDarean Adams, starting sophomore cornerback-wide receiver T.J. Williams and reserve sophomore cornerback Jeremy Ware were arraigned in Mason’s 55th District Court. Williams also was charged with one count of assault and battery.
Adams, Williams and Ware were released on $15,000 personal recognizance bonds, with the provision that they only leave the state for football-related matters. Williams also has a $100 personal recognizance bond for the assault and battery charge.
Court records do not indicate pleas were entered or the lawyers representing the players.
All three players are scheduled for pre-trial hearings Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. and preliminary examinations Thursday at 9 a.m.
Williams declined comment Thursday and Adams and Ware could not be reached for comment.
MSU head football coach Mark Dantonio said in a prepared statement that each player will remain on the roster during court proceedings.
“Throughout this process, our student-athletes have been cooperative with the authorities, and they have maintained their innocence to all parties involved,” Dantonio said. “In fairness to the student-athletes alleged to have been involved in the incident, the prudent decision is to allow the legal process to continue to run its full course and for the truth to be determined.”
Dantonio said he was notified of the alleged incident in late April and has monitored the situation since.
The charges stem from an April 21 response by Meridian Township police outside L & L Food Center, 6075 N. Hagadorn Road.
Meridian Township police said in April that they were investigating an incident at a parking lot located near Hagadorn and Lake Lansing roads — the approximate location of the supermarket — where 15 to 20 people were fighting and two were taken into custody. They did not confirm that those involved were MSU football players.
The case was brought to prosecutors in April but sent back to investigators twice before charges were made, Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III told The Associated Press.
Unarmed robbery is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, but the players would face a lower sentence if convicted, Dunnings told the AP. The assault and battery charge is punishable by up to 93 days in jail.
Staff writer Ashley A. Smith contributed to this report.
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