Trace Howell will have to wait a little while longer to get justice from Demonte Russell after Starkville Municipal Court Judge J. Brian Kelley postponed Russell's assault trial yesterday.
MSU Junior Trace Howell accused Demonte Russell of sucker-punching him as he left Two Brothers Smoked Meats in Starkville on May 8 around 11:30 PM. The alleged punch struck Howell so hard it knocked him out cold. His head struck the pavement as he fell, causing a brain bleed. Several witnesses corroborated Howell's account.
Russell was a 6'4", 280 lb defensive end for the gridiron Bulldogs while Howell is all of 150 lbs. Russell matriculated from Provine High School in Jackson. Howell is the Speaker of the Student Senate and on the Dean's List. Earlier post. Russell completed his football eligibility last fall.
The grand jury remanded the charge as a misdemeanor to the Starkville Municipal Court. Judge Kelly set Russell's trial for yesterday however it did not take place.
Russell did not appear in court but lawyered up with attorney Mark Jackson, a former Oktibbeha County Assistant District Attorney. Jackson entered a plea of not guilty for his client. Judge Kelly set Russell's trial for July 17 at 9 AM.
Howell appeared with his father and attorney Carson Thurman. Thurman said there have been no plea discussions. He said the prosecutor would not accept a plea bargain unless the Howell family agreed. The family will not agree to any plea unless it requires Russell to serve at least 90 days in jail and restitution for incurred medical expenses of $47,000. If the case goes to trial, Thurman said the family will request the maximum sentence of six months in prison and restitution.
Thurman said Howell had no interaction whatsoever with Russell before the assault. He did not say anything to him, he did not throw anything at him, nor did he make any contact with him before the alleged assault.
20 comments:
No civil suit for damages?
Will the case be tried between two individuals of equal standing or will the politics, prestige and power of college football intercede?
You honor, motion to fix. Wink, Wink, Nudge, Nudge.
3:44 It should be coming soon, since the SOL is coming up on May 8.
I'm sure the plaintiffs' attorneys were hoping the criminal case would reach disposition before then, but now they'll have to go ahead and file it.
When football talks, justice walks.
Unless there is some insurance policy they can go after g getting money out of this deadbeat is next to impossible.
come on, hes spent the last 5 years living off the general pubic through the ''athletic scholarship '' to moo U.
athletic scholarships ..............just one more form of welfare for the obviously able bodied person.
“Justice delayed is Justice denied “
Again, makes no sense to protect this guy. He wasn’t actually good and now his eligibility is expired. 66 tackles and 2 sacks in 5 years. This wasn’t Jeffrey Simmons. Simmons had more sacks in one game than this guy had in his entire career. Pretty easy decision to throw this guy under the deserved bus. I just don’t understand. Why make yourself look bad when he’s not any good?
You can’t squeeze blood out of a turnip. Unless the guy has some serious job prospects and potential for income, you would get a “judgment suitable for framing,” to quote a friend, but little else. There isn’t insurance for this.
It's the principle of the thing.
If they don't back the locally recruited thugs their program won't be able to recruit like they have in the past, the program will be up Sc*itts Creek and fast.
I really hope this this victim receives justice.
It makes no difference where this happened.
40 years ago, I witnessed the exact same thing at Ole Miss.
I forget the name of a famous Louisiana quarterback. Seems his name may have been John ...and he may have had little brother named Keith.
Oxford ambulances arrived to help. But never one word about it on the local Memphis,Tupelo, or Jackson news.
The Ole Miss Athletic Department was also silent.
A hate crime.
At Penn State before it was Jerry Sandusky there was Todd Hodne. Penn State Football's serial rapist and murderer.
Joe Paterno himself was part of that coverup.
https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/32496588/before-jerry-sandusky-penn-state-football-had-another-serial-sexual-predator-untold-story-crimes-fight-bring-justice
I've known the judge since the late 90's, well before he was a lawyer and judge. He was a stand-up guy. I am optimistic he will do the right thing here, whatever that is.
It's hard for me to watch basketball and football now, after being a tutor for some of the players. More of a baseball guy now.
As others have said you can't get blood from a turnip head, but, you can attach a garnishment and take some of every pay check he receives for the rest of his pathetic life. Again as others have says, it's the principal. Let future employers see that garnishment and know why he has to pay
What difference does it make if he has no money or the potential for a monetary recovery? He almost killed that kid, an honor student who is half his size, with a deliberate sucker punch. The DA, Starkville authorities, Athletic Director and MSU President should all be ashamed and held accountable. I guess if the kid had died, maybe it wouldn’t have been swept under the rug until the thug punk tried to make a few tackles for Hail State. There are some serious misplaced priorities here.
I tried to tell y'all earlier this thing will languish on like the Rudy Warnock fiasco. He'll be out of college and football by the time the errant judge decides it's time for trial. Just you watch and see.
April 16 was apparently an arraignment date. A lawyer showed up, pled not guilty for his client, and the case was set for trial.
That is all perfectly normal, and to be expected. KF knows how this works, so I think the headline on this one is a bit misleading.
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