An aggravated assault charge filed against Nigel Scarlett, ASMSU Student Assembly vice chairperson for external affairs, was dismissed Tuesday, said Scarlett’s attorney, James Newton.
Jury selection was scheduled to begin on Tuesday at the 54-B District Court in East Lansing.
Scarlett was accused of assaulting a 26-year-old man on July 5 following a verbal altercation in the area enclosed by Grand River Avenue, Albert Avenue, M.A.C. Avenue and Abbot Road. He was arraigned on the single aggravated assault charge in August.
“We’re just happy that the matter was resolved, and Nigel can move on with his school and his work,” Newton said.
Scarlett said court records filed following the dismissal indicated the charges were dropped “in the interest of justice.” Court records regarding Tuesday’s events have yet to be processed by the district court and were not available.
The Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office did not have information regarding the dropped charges available on Tuesday.
Newton said the decision was mutually reached between himself and the prosecutor before the start of the trial but declined to go into detail about why the decision was reached.
Following the dismissal, Scarlett said it’s his responsibility to continue to work in the favor of the student body while on the ASMSU Student Assembly.
ASMSU is MSU’s undergraduate student government.
“I’m still a student, and I still have to serve the students,” Scarlett said. He added that the ASMSU Student Assembly has been “very supportive” throughout the trial process.
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