1989 UM GRAD

March 21st, 2017 at 12:04 PM ^

...Nothing good happens after midnight.



Hope the investigation yields an accurate sense of what happened and that both parties are treated fairly and appropriately.

In reply to by boliver46

tjohn7

March 21st, 2017 at 12:15 PM ^

To be fair, a possible gang rape is much less of a legal slam dunk than this case. I still am somewhat shocked that their investigation has taken this long, but I can understand the time frame based on the much more challenging to prove charges.

boliver46

March 21st, 2017 at 12:26 PM ^

have video proof of at least involvement of the players...they haven't even released their names yet.

Lewis' situation is he-said/she-said...and his name was out there and court date were set within days.

B.S.

 

Current situation in E. Lansing:

nogit

March 21st, 2017 at 1:00 PM ^

Why does this case look at all like a legal slam dunk? I'm no lawyer, but they both say she went after him in the closet and that he was trying to get away (either to the closet or out of the house).

She doesn't remember how she got on the ground, he has an account for that.

This seems to me more in his favor than a he said / she said, based on what they agree on, but that's without accounting for gender.

Do you mean it's a slam dunk in his favor?

CalifExile

March 21st, 2017 at 2:21 PM ^

I agree with your analysis and love the last line. Criminal convictions require proof beyond a reasonable doubt. According to the MLive articles there is no evidence here beyond "he said, she said." He was justified in using minimal force to leave the area if she, in fact, tried to physically restrain him from leaving. The fact that police were initially unable to determine what happened suggests that the force he used was minimal.

Perhaps the reference to a "slam dunk" was a mischaracterization of the relative simplicity of the 2 cases.

In reply to by boliver46

MichFan1997

March 21st, 2017 at 1:46 PM ^

Michigan State will continue its media blackout for Pro Day tomorrow. Typically this event is fully open to reporters. (@DanMurphyESPN)
 
EDIT: Tried to embed. Didn't work for some reason. 

Bando Calrissian

March 21st, 2017 at 12:06 PM ^

That's one way of interpreting it.

The more reasonable is to say that Lewis did some pretty terrible and inexcusable things here. Throwing things. Dragging a woman down and holding her by the neck. Punching doors. 

All over a light being left on?

Yes, innocent until proven guilty, etc. etc., but... This is bad stuff.

Bando Calrissian

March 21st, 2017 at 1:11 PM ^

It's so interesting the ways people draw the line on where "truth" is determined when it involves an athlete from a team they like.

I'm just willing to venture a guess here that the NFL-caliber athlete who essentially lives and breathes to make his body stronger is probably going to be a lot bigger, stronger, and more aggressive than his girlfriend. There's no good way of spinning "he dragged me down and held me on the floor." Argument or not, when she's on the floor and he has his hands on her neck, that's not an argument anymore. That's assault.

But, yes, "he said, she said" and all that. Worked out for Frank Clark, too.

The Oracle

March 21st, 2017 at 1:24 PM ^

Spinning? You're assuming his girlfriend' s version is the truth, which may or may not be the case. Using your "biggest and stronger" rationale, it's significant that there were no marks on her neck. As a cop, I can understand why he wasn't arrested that night. As a former prosecutor, I'm a little surprised the case was filed. This looks to be a very tough one to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. Sometimes, celebrity works against a person.

Domestic violence is a hot button issue, and a decision not to file the case against Lewis might've caused some to protest that he was being given special treatment because he was a Michigan football player. I'm not sure the decision would have been the same if Lewis wasn't a well known athlete.

The Oracle

March 21st, 2017 at 2:52 PM ^

I don't know much about it, but it does sound like they have a few witnesses who will say that Perry grabbed the woman. The running from the police is relatively easy to prove. What surprised me is that in Michigan, running from the cops is apparently a felony. Like you I guess, I'm in California, where it's a misdemeanor. Getting that felony charge reduced would seem like a strong motivation for Perry to agree to a plea deal, and a significant advantage for the prosecution in the negotiation of that deal.

Blue in Paradise

March 21st, 2017 at 2:43 PM ^

Please stop moralizing to the rest of us.  I had the exact same comment to the MSU case - don't judge until the facts come out.  If the person / people are found guilty of a crime, they should be punished in accordance with the severity of the crime.

Yes, some people don't care about that and want to make it about our team vs. some other team and they are idiots.  Most of us don't fit that category (well maybe sometimes...)

StephenRKass

March 21st, 2017 at 3:42 PM ^

I won't make any assumptions regarding who is guilty and who is innocent. I am not a lawyer, nor an officer of the peace, nor someone who knows the facts. As to who knows the facts, I suppose really only Lewis and his girlfriend.

There are a few observations I will make:

  • In my limited experience, it often is the case that there is blame to go around. That is to say, it often isn't a clearcut case of who is at fault.
  • The general assumption is that the bigger, stronger male is at fault and is the one guilty of assault. I can support this assumption . . . but it isn't always the case.
  • There is one thing you said which I strongly agree with:  we need to be fair in where we draw the line. More specifically, I won't make the assumption that male athletes at MSU or OSU or Louisville or Alabama are "guilty" but athletes at Michigan aren't. I really dislike the presumption of guilt and thuggery this board throws at MSU. Really think this is out of line.
  • Some of the legal terms and definitions get pretty slippery. I know of a 14 year old Freshman who threw an apple down the hallway at his school. The apple hit a female teacher in the back about 25 yards down, and the student has a pending charge of felony assault. Hopefully it will be pled down to a misdemeanor. This is completely irrelevant to Lewis . . . except that it has opened my eyes to what the phrase "felony assault" can mean. Is it wrong? Always. However, I can easily understand that such a charge can mean different things.
  • The best scenario, in my mind, is for the parties involved to work together calmly, sensibly, rationally, for a mutually agreeable solution. I really don't want to speculate about the particulars of this case. But I strongly suspect that this case could have been resolved without the involvement of the police if both parties had worked together towards compromise. That would have been so much better than for public charges like this to be out there.

RoseInBlue

March 21st, 2017 at 12:10 PM ^

Well, it actually gives 2 accounts.

If hers is true that he dragged her across the floor and grabbed her neck, then yes, he did some awful things.  

If his is true that she hit him in the face and grabbed onto his leg as he was trying to leave, then not really.

The police said their were no visible marks on her neck but who knows really. 

 

It's your basic "he said, she said" situation.  Probably somewhere in the middle.

 

Erik_in_Dayton

March 21st, 2017 at 12:15 PM ^

There is a tremendous amount of domestic violence in the U.S. and in the world, but that doesn't mean Lewis did or did not do anything here.  She has a story.  He has a story.  Seems like there is agreement that there was physical contact when he was in the closet.  He may be guilty of assault.  He may not be.

wayneandgarth

March 21st, 2017 at 12:49 PM ^

So if there are no physical marks nor video, then its a "he said, she said"; which may mean its very difficult to prosecute.  Its no longer the case that he can be punished regardless by the Athletic Department or the football team. 

BUT, doubts can cost him in the draft.  Hopefully the truth comes out.

ijohnb

March 21st, 2017 at 1:00 PM ^

will likely plead under advisement, do some anger management and domestic violence classes and eventually the matter will be dismissed if he complies.  That would be my guess at first glance, assuming no criminal history which I assume he doesn't.

There can be a middle ground between "argument gone bad" and "really terrible things."   A police report can describe a very brief incident in great detail, giving the impression that the incident took a lot longer to happen than it did.  It is likely that this entire thing took under 5 seconds, and that both were either intoxicated or really, really mad, which could tamper with both of their memories of the event.  If that is the case it is likely that neither one truly remembers exactly what happenned and they both did their fair share of bating the other.

When you hear the word "drag," Ray Rice comes to mind.  This does not sound like that.  I think if he does and says the right things and means them that this won't have any effect on his draft stock.  More importantly, hopefully he learns to get out of that situation before either side has the chance to do something they can't take back.

In reply to by ijohnb

CalifExile

March 21st, 2017 at 3:25 PM ^

He will likely plead "not guilty" unless there is evidence beyond what is in the article linked by OP or the 2 MLive articles I read. The evidence that has been presented in these articles will not support a finding of "guilty beyond a reasonable doubt." A judge shouldn't even send it to a jury.

ijohnb

March 21st, 2017 at 3:59 PM ^

probably wouldn't be a jury trial, it would probably be a bench trial.  And they would not have brought charges on it if they did not think they could convict.  Under advisement pleas or deferred sentencing agreements are good deals for otherwise upstanding people who made a mistake, etc.  Also, I don't think he would want this to remain over his head heading into the draft.

In reply to by ijohnb

xtramelanin

March 21st, 2017 at 4:03 PM ^

a misdemeanor dismissed becuase of 'lack of evidence' before trial.   that is what preliminary hearing is for, and those are only for felonies.

second, it would be malpractice for the defense attorney to waive jury on this case unless the judge is an absolute known commodity to acquit.   this will be a jury trial if it goes, and a 15 minute or less 'not guilty' verdict. 

M Ascending

March 21st, 2017 at 4:18 PM ^

Jourdan has THE BEST defense attorney in the Ann Arbor area -- John Shea.  I expect that he will fight this and be acquitted or that charges will be dropped.  There are some real weaknesses in the GF's story.  Why on earth would she try to push into the closet after he had allegedly thrown things at her, thereby putting herself in direct and close proximity to him? Because she wanted to see if he had damaged the door -- come on. Why would she relentlessly go after him about leaving the light on?  If he did to her what she says he did, how could she have been totally uninjured.  (Huge difference there between the Rice and Mixon cases.) 

There were clearly underlying relationship issues that she didn't want to let go of and which compelled her to keep on his back.  Does that mean she should be subjected to violence?  Of course not.  But it does suggest to me that she is somewhat of a ballbuster, and that he should not only have left the house that night before getting into it with her; but he should have dumped her. 

 

ijohnb

March 21st, 2017 at 4:50 PM ^

you are so confident that the evidence in this case is insufficient to convict, why is the name of god would you want to pitch it to a jury? If you believe the evidence is insufficient on its face, why being 12 lay people of unknown emotional background and their own beliefs into the equation? And I said nothing about "lack of evidence before trial," only that the prosecutor would not of brought it unless they thought they could prove it. You simply don't know enough about this case to call it a 15 minute acquittal from this article even if you are a lawyer, police officer, farmer, and apparently a mortician as well.

In reply to by ijohnb

CalifExile

March 21st, 2017 at 5:26 PM ^

The jurors' emotional background and relevant beliefs will be known before trial upon the completion of voir dire. I won't pretend to be capable of making a better decision than JL's attorney but he will certainly take into account that if he can convince just one juror that there is a reasonable doubt JL wins.

In reply to by ijohnb

xtramelanin

March 21st, 2017 at 6:23 PM ^

michigan has 6 jurors sit for misdemeanors.   juries are easier to sway than judges, but if mascending is right and john shea has the case, john will know if his particular judge is the right one to waive the jury on.  the prosecutor has to agree also.  

lawyers who do homicides go to the morgue and watch bodies get cut up.  it's the nature of the job.  farming feeds the family and other families (including john shea's), and i couldn't/wouldn't do nearly as much if it wasn't for being blessed with a larger than average number of children who are pretty diligent about doing what it takes to make the farm work.  when they start going off to college the farm work will draw down some.  

SituationSoap

March 21st, 2017 at 1:03 PM ^

Given the NFL's history of blatant disregard for domestic violence, it's extremely unlikely that this will have any negative impact on Lewis's draft stock.

 

Note: not saying he's guilty or he's not; I can't determine that. I can only say that these allegations are very unlikely to have any effect on where he's drafted.

HateSparty

March 21st, 2017 at 1:45 PM ^

Pretty terrible and inexcusable things here.  So, being you were in the room...throwing pillows?  Terrible and inexcusable...okay call the police and CPS I have abused my kids during our pillow fights.  Next, peeling someone off of me who has grabbed my leg to attempt to remove my self from the situation....terrible and inexcusable.  again, CPS call.  My kids grab my legs every time we wrestle and I peel their hands off to escape.  

No where is it agreed that she was dragged around.  Punching doors, no observable damage to doors or his hands....not confirmed.  Holding her neck, no evidence to support based on visual evidence.

So, your interpretation, Mr. Judge and Jury is terrible and inexcusable things here.  Okay.

You have a long history of saying dumb things on this blog, you did not disappoint.

MGoStrength

March 21st, 2017 at 8:05 PM ^

I know I get pissed when my girlfriend leaves the lights on and doesn't leave enough money in the joint account!  Doesn't she know I pay the bills???

 

In all seriousness, it's funny how such little things like preferenes over room temperature, lights being left on/off, or the dishes can be such challenging things to comprimise.  We've had plenty of fights about all of them, although never with physical contact.  

I Like Burgers

March 21st, 2017 at 2:07 PM ^

Or, considering it was 1am and she got super heated over a light being left on, maybe she came home drunk, started a fight, and Lewis got the raw end of the deal because she called the cops on him because she was actively harrassing him and grabbing him (which is also assault, BTW) as he was trying to leave.  Both her and Lewis say she was dragged on the floor because she grabbed onto his leg a la Jeff Van Gundy on Alzono Mourning as he was trying to leave.  She doesn't even remember how she wound up on the floor in the first place.

I try and view all of these situations impartially, and this one feels far from "bad stuff" and feels very much like a drunk girl that went nuts on a guy and the guy is being punished for it because she called the cops.  In almost all of these cases the male never gets the benefit of the doubt.

ldevon1

March 21st, 2017 at 12:06 PM ^

The sad part is they were arguing about the lights being on, and he will be getting a job in a month where that will no longer be a point of concern.