6 years ago
A University of Maryland wide receiver was found not guilty of assaulting police and disorderly conduct, although the judge admitted he thought the player was guilty. "Son, you are about to get an early Christmas present, because I know what effect a probation would have," Judge R. Patrick Hayman told Gregory Dean Powell, 20, of Annapolis, who sobbed with relief.
"And it is a gift, because you are guilty as sin. I'm going to find you not guilty." Powell's attorney had told the judge that Maryland football coach Ralph Friedgen was aware of the charges against Powell and that a conviction or probation could end his college football career.
Powell was charged after a Senior Week run-in at an Ocean City motel with officers who ordered a roomful of underage drinkers to pour out their beer.
Powell and his attorney, Joe Devlin, agreed in court Monday that Powell had challenged an officer's right to enter a room rented by four women and that Powell had directed a profanity at Officer Edward Newcomb. Newcomb testified that Powell had yelled the profanity loud enough for several nearby people to hear it. The officer said he then told Powell, who was walking away from the motel, that he was under arrest for disorderly conduct and used pepper spray on him.
"I heard him (Ofc. Newcomb) say stop. As I turned to face him, he reached for something and sprayed me with it. It was burning," Powell said. Despite being sprayed, Newcomb said Powell fought with him and another officer before fleeing to another street, where he was arrested by a third officer.
Powell's attorney argued the use of the four-letter word was not enough to constitute disorderly conduct, but Hayman disagreed. Before sentencing, the judge chastised Powell for not leaving the motel room when Newcomb first told him he was free to go without facing arrest. "I understand that this is a game. The police catch them and pour their beer out," Hayman said. "You had to have the last word." Powell apologized to the judge, saying he had "learned that my place is not to counter authority."
Greg Creese, a spokesman for Maryland's football program, said Powell was likely to face disciplinary action, but the charges had not affected Powell's preseason practices.
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