An alleged Feb. 23 assault in South Hubbard Hall could have been the result of prior arguments and scuffles, according to East Lansing district court proceedings Friday for two men charged in the incident.
During preliminary examinations for the two defendants — MSU student Albert Reginald Robinson, 19, and nonstudent Joel Ross Hamlar, 17 — two alleged victims testified about the incident. The victims, MSU student Robert Nelson and nonstudent Kevin Howard Towns, told the court about events leading up to the to event, which included alleged assaults on the defendant Robinson. Their testimony echoed that given by another alleged victim on June 23.
According to Nelson's testimony, conflict between Robinson and others came from MSU student Nicholas Antoine Palmer, an alleged victim in the assault, saying something derogatory about another individual. Robinson repeated Palmer's statements to that person, which many friends of the three victims felt he shouldn't have done, Nelson said.
The tension escalated into several fights between Robinson and his friends against others, Nelson said. One quarrel began in Akers Hall and involved Robinson's girlfriend and other women about a week before the incident. After hearing about the dispute, Robinson went to the east complex, Nelson said. The quarrel eventually moved outside South Hubbard Hall, where a few people — including Robinson — fought each other in a crowd of about 100 people, Nelson said.
Another fight broke out in Rather Hall, where Robinson resided, early in the morning of Feb. 23 and involved another alleged assault on him, Nelson said. He said friends of the victims, nonstudents Ali Anderson and Aaron Baker, chased Robinson up the stairs and spit on him.
Robinson and Hamlar were arrested Feb. 23 in connection with the assault, which involved three assailants — one with a handgun — threatening three people in a South Hubbard Hall room.
In the June 23 court proceeding, Palmer testified that Robinson, Hamlar and Robinson's uncle — 38-year-old Roy Lee Holt — came into the room with a black handgun around noon. Palmer said Robinson's uncle pointed the gun at everyone in the room and asked if they were someone known as "A.B.," later identified as Palmer's friend Baker.
In Palmer's testimony, he said both Robinson and the third individual were in the room, but Hamlar stood in the doorway with only one foot inside.
Towns, a Lansing Community College student, confirmed Friday that he woke up to someone yanking blankets off him and then suddenly became aware of the situation.
"At first, I thought it was my friends playing, but then there was a gun to my head," Towns said. "I hear, 'Is this him, is this him, is this him?'"
Towns said he recognized Holt as Robinson's uncle from after the fight, which took place outside Hubbard Hall.
He said he laughed when the gun was pointed toward him because the gun was not cocked, and Holt's index finger rested on the trigger guard — not the trigger. Towns stopped laughing after Holt doused him with gasoline from the water bottle.
The preliminary examinations for both Robinson and Hamlar are scheduled to continue on the afternoon of Aug. 11.
