Boonsin was arrested following the disturbance and cited with disorderly conduct for remaining within 300 feet of a fire, according to court documents.
On the night of the disturbance, Boonsin told The State News he was studying in his dorm room when he and his friends saw crowds of people heading to Cedar Village Apartments. He told police he saw a student holding up a sign reading “burn the couch” during the Fox Sports broadcast of the game, according to a police report.
“We decided to check it out,” Boonsin told The State News.
When he got to the intersection of Waters Edge and Cedar streets, Boonsin told police he began shaking a nearby stop sign. He told The State News that he “got caught up” in the excitement of the crowd. He said his friends tried to stop him and pulled him away. Other students followed Boonsin’s lead and ripped the stop sign out of the ground. Boonsin was there for 30 minutes before deciding to leave because the crowd was getting out of control.
“I felt awful about it,” Boonsin said. “I worried the whole night about getting in trouble for it.”
A few days later, Boonsin said a police officer approached him while he was studying for his final exams. The officer informed Boonsin that the Ingham County prosecuting attorney intended to press charges against him for disorderly conduct and that it would be best if he cooperated.
“I felt awful, like my world had ended,” Boonsin said.
East Lansing City Attorney Tom Yeadon declined to comment on the case.
Although he was sentenced Monday, Boonsin said he could still be exonerated because he is eligible to have his record cleared under the Holmes Youthful Trainee Act. The act gives offenders between the ages of 17 and 20 the right to enter a probationary period instead of serving jail time if they pleaded guilty to a lesser crime.
During the disturbance, East Lansing police Capt. Jeff Murphy said police were concerned with breaking up the large crowds. After the fact, he said, they placed more emphasis on finding those who’d committed more ?serious crimes.
“The next day we focused on damaged property, assaults, fueling fires or starting fires, and those were the people we arrested later,” Murphy said.
Boonsin’s sentence might soon affect his life as ?a young professional. For most of his life, he’d dreamed of joining the ?U.S. Marine Corps. At the time of his arrest he was in the process of finalizing his military requirements, which now have to be put on hold because of his jail time.
“I’ve always dreamed of wearing dress blues and ?taking my wife or girlfriend to the ball,” he said.
Boonsin hopes he will be granted a waiver so that he can be placed on probation after his sentence. The waiver could possibly get the felony charge removed from his record so the Marine ?Corps could still be a possibility.
