MSU football player gets 180 days in jail for fight
By Kyle Feldscher (Last updated: 04/13/09 11:20pm)Suspended MSU running back Glenn Winston must serve 180 days in jail for his role in an off-campus brawl last October, a judge ruled Tuesday in East Lansing’s 54-B District Court.
Winston
Winston, a freshman running back from Detroit, originally pleaded not guilty to three counts of aggravated assault stemming from an Oct. 19, 2008 fight that resulted in the hospitalization of MSU hockey player A.J. Sturges. Winston changed his plea on March 10 to guilty, and two of the aggravated assault charges were dropped while one count of assault and battery was added.
After Winston changed his plea to guilty, MSU head football coach Mark Dantonio suspended him from the team indefinitely. John Lewandowski, MSU’s associate athletics director, said Tuesday no immediate changes were made to Winston’s status as a member of the MSU football team following his sentencing.
Ingham County assistant prosecutor Lisa McCormick said Judge David Jordon handed down a “fair” sentence.
“In light of the egregious nature of some of the injuries, I think the judge was being fair,” McCormick said.
In addition to the six-month jail sentence, Winston will serve two years of probation and pay $1,768.43 in fines and court costs. Winston also is required to complete an assaultive behavior and substance abuse counseling program and must submit to random drug and alcohol tests.
After the fight, which took place outside a Center Street home, Sturges was treated for a fractured skull. Winston admitted to hitting Sturges, whose injuries prevented him from returning to the MSU hockey team for the 2008-09 season.
According to an East Lansing police report obtained by The State News through a Freedom of Information Act request, Winston also struck bystanders Ian Montgomery and Nicholas Dixon. Montgomery suffered a fractured jaw that was wired shut for six weeks following the scuffle, according to the report.
Witnesses in the report said the fight involving Winston was preceded by an altercation between freshman walk-on receiver Mitchell White and former MSU hockey player Andrew Conboy.
Witnesses told police that several MSU football players, including Winston, arrived at the house and started the second fight.
Jim Newton, Winston’s attorney, said he does not know why Winston was given a harsher-than-average sentence as a first-time offender, but is glad the case is finished.
“Obviously, we’re disappointed,” Newton said. “But, on the other hand, it’s a good thing to get closure so everyone can start putting this behind them and start moving on.”
White, who is from Livonia, pleaded guilty to assaulting Livonia resident Sean Lerg during the second fight. White was sentenced to 30 days in jail, two years of probation, 80 hours of community service and a $500 fine.
Dantonio has not commented on White’s playing status with the football team, but White did not dress during the second half of MSU’s season and was not listed on the team’s roster for the Capital One Bowl in January.
Originally Published: 04/13/09 11:49am
Phil
04/13/09 1:32pmSucks; he was starting to blossom as a punt\kickoff returner toward the end of last season.
ZT
04/13/09 4:34pmDoes anyone else think this seems like a pretty harsh punishment?
awally
04/13/09 4:52pmnot harsh at all, he’s a frekkin idiot
JR
04/13/09 4:58pmHarsh punishment? For someone who MSU waived their educational fees and sponsored to strength-train and represent our school… to go and use those things for malicious and destructive purposes? He should serve that time and think about his actions. He assaulted three of our own guys (and 3 guys who are used to taking a beating on the ice) and fractured one’s skull, and demolished the other’s jaw. You reap what you sew… and you can’t fix stupid.
Alejandro
04/13/09 5:10pmgive him the boot. he can have a second chance… just somewhere else. more times than not, people who do this, do this more than once.
ZT
04/13/09 5:10pmI am not defending what he did, but lets not forget the same hockey player who got kicked off the hockey team for this off-ice, as well as on-ice incident was also involved. Regardless of being a football player or not, how many fights have you seen at house parties, bars, things like that? All dumb, can you imagine getting 180 days for getting in a fight when you were back in college?
Dave
04/13/09 5:22pmSeems fair as long as he has to pay the fine… but I have a feeling it will come out of MSU’s budget.
really?
04/13/09 5:29pmreally, dave? do you have the mental capacity of a six-year-old? how the hell do you imagine someone’s court fees would be taken out of MSU’s budget??
Frank
04/13/09 11:18pm+1 to that^^
come on dave. this isn’t u of m. we don’t pay our athletes.
student
04/14/09 1:47amI don’t want that guy on my football team. We are students before anything else at MSU. So, if he didn’t respect another student, don’t let him come back.
He was already shown the door out, don’t open it again.
Jason B
04/14/09 8:29amThis guy was turning into a good football player. Too bad he had to go and waste his opportunity. The punishment might seem harsh if it was a heat of the moment thing. But this guy went back to the house after one of his football team buddies was in a fight there. Chances are he didn’t go back to talk it out. He went there looking to start a fight and retaliate for his buddy. And these football players are so strong, he probably broke the one guy’s jaw with one hit. I don’t have any sympathy for people like this that intentionally start trouble. As much as I liked him as a player, he deserves the punishment. Hope he comes out of this with a better sense of how to conduct himself.
Lyle
04/14/09 11:02amNone of them should be back at MSU. They came looking for a fight – poor character.
MSUparty
04/14/09 12:20pmThis kid is an idiot. Kick him off the team
conboy is a trouble maker
04/14/09 12:25pmBoy oh boy, trouble sure follows Conboy, doesn’t it? Not that it excuses these thugs, but anytime Conboy is involved there are likely multiple sides to the story.
Wow...
04/14/09 12:58pmHonestly, I think that this was a relatively light semtence. He fractured someone’s skull and messed up another one’s jaw so bad that it had to be wired for more than a month!
And JR, to sew is to stich together (clothing); to sow is to plant (crops). I know, I know, this is MSU, but still…
jeff
04/14/09 4:22pmI’ll take a slightly less good football team over a team with a bunch of punk thugs on it, any day. Get this loser out of here.
Steve
04/14/09 10:19pmThis judge deserves a raise. It’s about time someone stuck it to these thugs that don’t deserve a free education.
Brendan
04/15/09 9:40amToo harsh of a punishment. Come on he punched a few guys. Just because he is strong and his fists do more damage than your average frat boy slap fest is total BS. Get him back on the team, we need him. Maybe he can punch some Wolverines in the head!
hello?
04/26/09 7:11pmjust browsing and nobody will read this, but i think “really” and “frank” should double-check some of the facts about athlete compensation. all universities find ways to pass a little money along for housing and other expenses.
also, “mental capacity” is a term becoming very overused by people with a slightly lower-than-normal… well, you get the idea.