Four Pitt football players arrested

Four Pitt football players turned themselves in the morning of July 10, after warrants were… Four Pitt football players turned themselves in the morning of July 10, after warrants were issued for each on counts of aggravated assault, criminal conspiracy, criminal mischief and criminal trespass.

Clint Session, a 19-year-old sophomore and letter-winning linebacker from Pompano Beach, Fla., and three red-shirted freshmen appeared at the warrant office in the Municipal Court Building at about 9 a.m., according to the Pitt police department media log. The other three players, all 19, were Daniel Pickens, of Bridgeville, Pa., Lance Asbee, of Pittsburgh, Pa., and Christopher McKillop, of Export, Pa.

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All four were released without any bail.

“It is extremely disappointing that members of our program would have any involvement in a situation of this type, and we have already taken steps to impose some internal discipline,” head coach Walt Harris said in a statement.

“Discipline has always been a priority for our program, and we do not take these types of incidents lightly,” Harris explained.

Pitt spokesman John Fedele could not elaborate on what, if any, restrictions have been placed on the four players. Fedele confirmed that the warrants were issued in connection with an April 16 fight at the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house on Pitt’s Fraternity Hill. The Friday night fight, which occurred between fraternity brothers and men identifying themselves as football players, involved more than 20 people and sent three fraternity members to the hospital, Pitt Police Chief Tim Delaney said several days after the fight.

The worst injury was a fractured orbital bone — a facial bone near the eye — that later required an operation, according to Delaney.

The four Pitt students’ hearing has been set for 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 8, after an attorney for the students requested that the hearing be postponed from its original date of July 20, according to a city court official.

Athletics Director Jeff Long, like Harris, emphasized the importance of student-athlete conduct.

“These charges will now be reviewed in light of our expectations relating to the conduct of team members and University students in general,” Long said in a statement issued shortly after the charges were filed.

Both Long and Harris also urged that judgment be withheld until the end of the investigation.

“Now that a formal legal process has been initiated, I will have to reserve final judgment until that process has been completed,” Harris said.

Long added, “We need to remember these students are entitled to the presumption of innocence.”

Athletics department spokesman E. J. Borghetti said that no players have been dismissed from the team. He declined to comment further, saying that the players deserve the same right to privacy as other students.

“None of our athletes participate in any interviews unless it’s coordinated through the media relations office, under any circumstances,” Borghetti said, explaining that it would be inappropriate to comment on any issues dealing with attorneys.

Fedele could not comment on whether the four football players have sought the counsel of lawyers or whether Pitt has engaged the services of a lawyer to monitor the investigation.

Cristopher Hoel, a lawyer and Pi Kappa Alpha alumnus from Pitt, is working with the fraternity to “monitor the investigation and pursue justice,” and to ensure fair treatment for the undergraduates involved, he said. He is also acting as a representative of the local Pi Kappa Alpha alumni association.

“We have not seen the police report, but we are very pleased that it appears to have been a conscientious investigation,” Hoel said.

“We have plenty of reason to complain about the people who trespassed and assaulted our members, but we have no reason to complain about the way the University police have handled it,” Hoel said, adding that he would like to see the police report.

Explaining that individuals rarely make private legal complaints, Hoel said the police and the district attorney would probably handle the charges.

Michael Manko, spokesman for the Allegheny County District Attorney’s office, said the district attorney might become involved after the preliminary hearing but that the office was not involved in the case at this time.

Pitt Police Chief Tim Delaney was unavailable for comment.