EAST LANSING — The criminal case against a 21-year-old man charged in connection with a fight in downtown East Lansing that included a knife has ended without a public resolution.
Nathan Leslie Warner had been charged with two felonies, for assault and carrying a concealed weapon.
His arrest followed what police described as a large fight in downtown East Lansing around 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 23. Officers broke up the fight by using pepper spray, said Nadia Sellers, CEO of the Okemos-nonprofit the Honey Bear Project. The organization works with underrepresented youth. East Lansing police have not addressed the use of pepper spray in its statements on the incident.
Warner was scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Thursday, Sept. 11. Preliminary hearings determine if there’s enough evidence for a case to proceed toward trial. In a news release on Friday, Sept. 12, the East Lansing Police Department said Warner’s case had been “adjudicated” and is no longer a public case.
There are several kinds of nonpublic cases in Michigan and among the most common are those under the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act. The law allows judges to grant someone the opportunity to keep their record clean if they complete their sentence and stay out of trouble in the future. To be eligible, someone must have been between 18 and 26 years old at the time of the incident and successfully complete their sentence, which can be probation or incarceration at a special facility.
Once the status is given, the case becomes nonpublic, which also restricts what information can be disclosed.
Ingham County Prosecuting Attorney John Dewane declined to comment.
MORE: Officials call for East Lansing police to release video of weekend violence
In a statement, East Lansing Police Chief Jen Brown credited the actions of her officers during the large fight.
“We will be working closely with the City Attorney and the Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office to evaluate and consider seeking charges against additional individuals who participated in violence that night but have not been charged at this time,” she said. “We are asking the public for assistance in identifying individuals involved in violence that occurred that night in the downtown area.”
The police department also released portions of video from body cameras worn by officers. The department said the videos show Warner with a knife moments before an officer used a stun gun on him.
East Lansing officers had been giving him “commands to drop the knife and to get on the ground,” according to the release, but Warner “disobeyed” officers and instead walked toward a backpack and put the knife down.
Video released shows Warner standing with his hands raised on his sides and his palms facing up. An officer uses a stun gun on Warner immediately after another officer grabbed the backpack, the videos show.
The videos posted to YouTube do not include audio in some portions of the recordings.
Brown did not return a message seeking clarity on what was released.
It’s uncommon for additional material to be released in connection with a nonpublic case.
Contact reporter Matt Mencarini at mjmencarini@lsj.com.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Criminal case of man charged in East Lansing fight now nonpublic; police release video
Reporting by Matt Mencarini, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
