<DIV =firstP>
<DIV =firstP>Butler
<DIV =firstP>
<DIV =firstP>
<DIV =firstP>Richards
<DIV =firstP>
<DIV =firstP>ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) - Two
Michigan football players were arraigned Wednesday on assault charges after police say they attacked a fellow student in a residence hall on St. Patrick's Day.
Carson Butler, of Detroit, and Christian Richards III, of Pacoima, Calif., were charged with one count each of aggravated assault, and assault and battery, campus police spokeswoman Diane Brown said.
The aggravated assault charge is a misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of one year. The assault and battery charge is a misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of 93 days.
The players, both 19-year-old sophomores, were arraigned in Washtenaw District Court and released on $5,000 personal bonds pending a March 27 pretrial hearing, Brown said.
School spokesman David Ablauf had no immediate comment on the arrests.
Butler, a tight end, started seven games for
Michigan last season and caught 19 passes. Coach Lloyd Carr said last week Butler would not be with the team during spring drills, which began Saturday and end April 14.
Richards, a reserve defensive back, had five tackles last year.
A 20-year-old
Michigan student told campus police he was repeatedly punched Saturday in an acquaintance's dorm room, Brown said. The victim told police his attackers already were in the room when he arrived and that he did not know why he was assaulted, Brown said.
Brown said a fourth student in the room was not attacked and did not take part in the alleged assault.
Police were called to the room, and the victim was taken to the University of
Michigan Hospital emergency room where he was treated and released, police said.
