Spartan players charged with Assault...

Seven Michigan State University football players and two former players were charged Wednesday with misdemeanor assault and conspiracy to commit assault, in connection with a Nov. 22 incident at Rather Hall in which 13 football players were identified as being present. MSU police continue to investigate and have yet to identify two suspects, MSU police Chief Jim Dunlap said. The incident took place after a fraternity potluck dinner in the MSU dormitory, about 90 minutes after the football team's awards banquet, across Harrison Avenue at the Kellogg Center. Dunlap said "it's possible" that more people will be charged. He and Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III released a statement Wednesday detailing the charges to date. Q&A Michigan State University police chief discusses the case with Joe Rexrode "I honestly don't know what tomorrow will bring, or a week from tomorrow," Dunlap said Wednesday night of the investigation. Of the nine charged, two - Glenn Winston and Roderick Jenrette - were dismissed permanently from the team by coach Mark Dantonio on Nov. 24. Both had previously received second chances, Winston after serving nearly four months in jail on a misdemeanor assault conviction. The other seven have been suspended indefinitely by Dantonio and will not participate in MSU's bowl game, the Jan. 2 Alamo Bowl against Texas Tech in San Antonio. Four more players are suspended at least through the bowl game for being present at the incident, but they have not been charged. They are Brynden Trawick, Ishmyl Johnson, Chris D. Rucker and Donald Spencer. The charges Conspiracy to commit assault and battery is a misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail. All nine were charged with conspiracy, in addition to the following charges. • Jenrette: Three counts of assault or assault and battery. • Winston: Two counts of assault or assault and battery. • Ashton Leggett: Two counts of assault or assault and battery. • Mark Dell: One count of assault or assault and battery. • B.J. Cunningham: One count of assault or assault and battery. • Chris L. Rucker (no relation to Chris D. Rucker): One count of assault or assault and battery. • Fred Smith: One count of assault or assault and battery. • Jamiihr Williams: One count of assault or assault and battery. • J'Michael Deane: One count of assault or assault and battery. Each assault count carries a maximum penalty of 93 days in jail. Dunnings is alleging that each player made physical contact. However, he said, a person can be guilty of assault by "putting someone in fear of an immediate threat." "It's a matter of what we prove," Dunnings said. "Is the proof going to show they actually hit somebody, or that they put the person in fear? It doesn't matter, either way they're still guilty." Asked if women were struck in the incident, an initial claim made by witnesses in a Nov. 24 report in The State News, Dunlap said: "I won't comment on who individually was struck." Witnesses, including student Brent Mitchell, also claimed several players wore ski masks, a claim later reiterated by Mitchell's lawyer, Vanessa Moss-Wilson of Southfield. Dunlap on Wednesday refuted that claim. "Only one individual was wearing anything that you could remotely say was similar to a ski mask," he said, "and it was an open-face mask. ... When I think of a ski mask, I think of the two holes cut out for the eyes, and that's not what this was." Dozens interviewed The night before the incident, an altercation between Winston and members of the fraternity, Iota Phi Theta, took place at the Small Planet nightclub in Bath Township, Moss-Wilson said. She said the football players came to Rather Hall the next night looking for revenge, targeting her client and other members of the fraternity. Dunlap's investigation focused strictly on the Rather Hall incident. He said it involved "interviews with dozens of people" and review of an on-site video that captured some of the altercation. Dantonio spoke with reporters Saturday about the incident and the 10 suspects who had been identified at the time - Winston, Jenrette, Leggett, Dell, Cunningham, Johnson, Trawick, Smith, Williams and Chris L. Rucker. 'People are reeling' "I think it's a very traumatic experience for this program, you know, and we've got to be able to get past this situation," he said Saturday. "Also think it's extremely devastating for families that are involved in this. And I've talked to, I believe, every family that has been involved with this. And a lot of people are reeling." Dantonio also said he would "take action accordingly" when charges are filed. He was not available for comment Wednesday. Deane, Spencer and Chris D. Rucker were the three new names revealed Wednesday, bringing the total to 13. Winston received two years of probation for his role in an October 2008 fight that left MSU hockey player A.J. Sturges hospitalized with a head injury. Winston could receive a "consecutive" sentence, Dunnings said, if he is found guilty of a probation violation, along with the charges he currently faces. "Yes, he is in trouble," Dunnings said of Winston. "I would think so."