EAST LANSING — With Draymond Green listening by phone from Las Vegas, a pretrial conference in his assault case concluded Thursday without a plea agreement or resolution being reached.
Green, the former Michigan State star and current member of the U.S. Olympic team, is accused of slapping former Michigan State football player Jermaine Edmondson on July 10 in East Lansing.
On Thursday, the city and Green’s attorney, Lansing-based lawyer James Heos, met in East Lansing district court to exchange information and negotiate a possible resolution in the case.
“We started plea negotiations, but nothing was resolved,” East Lansing assistant city attorney David Meyers said.
Green’s case will now move to another pretrial conference and jury selection. That date has yet to be issued by the court and will most likely come in September, after the Olympic Games end.
Green is not required to attend the next pretrial conference, but would be obligated to attend jury selection if the case proceeds to trial.
In the meantime, negotiations will continue between the city and Green’s representation and a deal could be struck before the next pretrial conference.
Green was involved in an altercation with MSU football player Jermaine Edmondson.
“We’ll have ongoing discussions which could result in a conclusion of the case,” Heos said.
Green, 26, faces maximum penalties of a $500 fine and/or 90 days in jail on the assault charge if found guilty. He was released on the morning of the alleged incident on $200 bond.
Green is currently participating in pre-Olympic training camp with the U.S. men’s national team in preparation for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (August 6-21). On Thursday, after joining the pretrial conference by phone, he was scheduled for a day of practice at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.
According to Meyers, the Golden State Warriors forward is free to leave the country for the Games.
“More than likely, (the next pretrial conference) is going to be set in September and he already has leave to be out of the country,” Meyers said. “More than likely, he’ll be allowed to do it, so we wouldn’t object to him playing in the Olympics at all.”
While in Las Vegas, Green recently said of the incident: “My attorneys are handling everything. Leave it in their hands and I got an opportunity to compete for a gold medal. You don’t let any type of distraction get in the way of that.”
In a statement by an arresting officer in the case, Green is said to have “open-handedly slapped” Edmondson around 2:30 a.m. Sunday outside Conrad’s Grill in downtown East Lansing.
In both a verbal and written statement to police, Edmondson claimed the encounter stemmed from an altercation the previous night at Rick’s American Cafe, a downtown bar. In that instance, Edmondson claims Green bumped into him, leading to a verbal clash.
Edmondson claims both he and his girlfriend were then choked by unknown members of Green’s group.
Following the early Sunday altercation, Green was arrested and charged with assault. Edmondson told police he did not have any injuries and he declined medical attention. In a written statement submitted to police later, he reported having a sore neck and jaw, along with a headache.
In that statement, Edmondson added, “I am willing to fully cooperate to get this situation taken care of.”
After the arrest, Green submitted to a preliminary breath test. He registered a .10 BAC and was held in ELPD jail until sober.
Edmondson, who turned 22 on the weekend of his altercation with Green, played in 14 games on special teams and at cornerback as a redshirt junior at Michigan State last season. He recorded 38 tackles, three pass break-ups and three fumble recoveries in 38 career games.
A Canton, Ohio, native, Edmondson is represented by Corey Minor Smith, a Canton, Ohio-based attorney. Following the release of Green’s arrest report last week, Smith issued a statement saying Green “punched and assaulted” Edmondson and that the incident has “forever altered” his life.
On July 13, Michigan State announced Edmondson requested and granted a release to transfer. The program said his departure was “not directly tied” to the incident involving Green.
Edmondson, who has one remaining season of college football eligibility, has not yet announced where he intends to transfer. He was not required to attend Thursday’s pretrial conference.
Courtesy:mlive.com
