Nebraska player on trial in Norman, OK

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Jury selection begins in Cornhusker’s trial<!--EZCODE BOLD END-->
By Justin Harper
Staff writer Jane Glenn Cannon also contributed to this report.
The Oklahoman

NORMAN — Darren DeLone spent a long day inside the Cleveland County courthouse saying little but appearing confident as jury selection began Monday.
NEWS 9 report

With his mother, father and fiancée alongside, DeLone was in the courthouse from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. as the jury selection process took up the whole day and will continue today.

The Nebraska offensive lineman faces a felony count of aggravated assault and battery against Adam Merritt, a member of the University of Oklahoma’s RUF/NEKS spirit squad.

One reason for the lengthy selection process was due to extensive screening and questioning of potential jurors. That was by design. The trial has attracted national attention with speculation of whether a Nebraska football player can get a fair trial in Norman, home of the rival Sooners.

Defense attorney Garvin Isaacs, Cleveland County District Attorney Tim Kuykendall and District Judge William Hetherington covered that topic thoroughly. Aside from routine questions, all three quizzed potential jurors at length. The subjects ranged from their sports fanaticism to whether they would “be embarrassed” to submit a decision of not guilty against a Nebraska football player in the shadow of the University of Oklahoma.

Hetherington opened jury selection Monday by asking for a show of hands from people who had read or heard in the news media stories about the DeLone case. About three-quarters of a panel of 46 raised their hands.

“I would expect as much,” Hetherington said, “since this is a football town. The question is whether you can put aside what you’ve read or heard and be fair and impartial.”

In the courtroom, Hetherington said, “it makes no difference if you are an OU fan or a Nebraska fan. This is not about football. This is a very serious matter.”

Only one man questioned Monday said he was at the Nov. 13 football game. The man told Hetherington, “I only heard something about it later. I never noticed anything at the game.”

One woman wearing an OU sweatshirt told the judge “it was just coincidental that she had worn the shirt to court that day.”

Nine in the pool of 22 potential jurors are OU graduates. One member of the pool was released at the end of the day.

For his part, DeLone looked assured throughout the proceedings, sometimes smiling at his family, other times laughing at humorous anecdotes from the pool of jurors. He and Isaacs declined comment until after the trial, which is expected to last four to five days.

Merritt arrived around 3 p.m. but did not sit at Kuykendall’s table. The freshman sat in the public-seating area of the courtroom and did not participate in any of the proceedings.

Numerous witnesses are scheduled to be called for both the state and defense. None were believed to be on hand Monday. Among the 39 names listed on the defendant’s list of trial witnesses are nine Nebraska players and three coaches, including former OU coach John Blake, now the defensive line coach at Nebraska.

Huskers’ coach Bill Callahan was not present, but he and NU athletic director Steve Pederson are expected to be called by the state to testify.

The trial figures to have as much strategy as any football game DeLone has played. The defense maintains the collision was an accident. And, according to court papers, some twists might be in store.

DeLone allegedly punched and/or shoved Merritt into a stadium wall after a pregame drill ran over into the area where the RUF/NEKS were gathered.

The collision knocked Merritt unconscious and knocked out two teeth. Several witnesses, including at least one player, claim that it was actually Nebraska defensive end Wali Muhammad who collided with Merritt instead of DeLone. Additionally, an oral surgeon claims, in his opinion, Merritt’s teeth were knocked out by the butt of one of the shotguns carried by RUF/NEKS members.

Also, Blake is expected to describe in his testimony the gloves that DeLone was wearing. The gloves are padded, suggesting that they would prevent a blow that would cause teeth to be knocked out.

If I had potential jurors showing up in OU clothing, I'd be begging for the trial to be moved to Stillwater, home of the OSU cowboys.

 

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Witness testifies against Husker

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- A University of Oklahoma spirit squad member testified Wednesday that a Nebraska player cursed him and made a throat-slitting gesture at him prior to charging into another member of the group.

Matt Tinsley, who was standing next to fellow Ruf/Nek Adam Merritt when Merritt was slammed into a wall before the Nov. 13, 2004, football game between Oklahoma and Nebraska, said he had been among several other Ruf/Neks trying to disrupt the Cornhuskers by yelling "hut-hut-hut" during practice snap counts. Lineman Darren DeLone confronted him and cursed at him, Tinsley said.

Tinsley testified that he walked away and was pointing at DeLone later when the Nebraska player made a threatening gesture at him.
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"DeLone saw me and then slid his thumb across his neck at me," Tinsley said.

DeLone, 23, is on trial on one felony charge of aggravated assault and battery. He has pleaded innocent to the charge, which carries a punishment of up to five years in prison upon conviction.

On cross-examination by defense attorney Garvin Isaacs, Tinsley acknowledged the Ruf/Neks were intentionally trying to interfere with the Nebraska players. He added there was trash talk going on and some members of the spirit squad had fired their ceremonial shotguns.

"Is there anywhere else in America where they take shotguns to a football game?" Isaacs asked. Tinsley replied, "No, sir."

Maxwell claimed DeLone walked over and used profanity to get them to stop. Later, as DeLone was being worked on by a trainer, Tinsley said he pointed a Ruf/Nek paddle at him and DeLone responded by making the gesture. Tinsley said he again walked away.

He claims he joined Merritt on the east sidelines and DeLone pointed at him and "not more than a minute later" charged into the group of Ruf/Neks, injuring Merritt. Tinsley testified that Nebraska' Wali Muhammad ran into him, but he wasn't thrown to the ground.

"I stumbled back a little bit," Tinsley said.

He testified that he did not actually see DeLone hit Merritt but believed that the Nebraska player was the only one who could have hit Merritt. Isaacs has argued that Muhammad accidentally hit Merritt, and not DeLone.

DeLone watched the exchange between attorneys and the witnesses. Isaacs frequently jotted notes.

Tinsley's testimony followed that of another Ruf/Nek, Lance Maxwell. Maxwell testified that he, Merritt and Tinsley were standing several feet away from the field in a marked area when Merritt was hit. He said he saw Merritt being slammed into a metal gate along the brick wall at Owen Field. He said Merritt appeared confused after being hit and had blood on his mouth and shirt.

Maxwell said the purpose of the Ruf/Neks -- the group that accompanies the Sooner Schooner covered wagon onto the field -- was not to intimidate or disrupt opponents.

Isaacs called Tiffany Watson, a Norman dental assistant, as an "out of time" witness so she could testify on her lunch hour about a report taken during her examination of injuries to Merritt's teeth. The 19-year-old spirit squad member has testified he lost one tooth, had another broken at the gum line and briefly lost consciousness.

In her report, Watson wrote that the injuries were sustained in an "accident," but she qualified that by saying she used that term by her own judgment not by anything Merritt reported.

After Watson's testimony, the prosecution was expected to continue with its own witnesses.

 

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Ex-Husker acquitted

DeLone found innocent on assault charge

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- A former Nebraska football player was acquitted Wednesday of an aggravated assault and battery charge stemming from a pre-game incident in which an Oklahoma spirit squad member was injured.

A 12-member jury deliberated for just less than three hours before declaring Darren DeLone innocent on the felony charge. After the verdict was read, DeLone let out a muffled gasp and pumped his right fist over the table.
DeLone's defense attorney, Garvin Isaacs, said in his closing arguments Wednesday that the 6-foot-5, 315-pound former Nebraska offensive lineman was "wrongfully accused" and that the injuries suffered by 19-year-old Adam Merritt were accidental.

"He's an innocent man," Isaacs said, pointing to DeLone in the Cleveland County courtroom. Members of DeLone's family were also present.

"No crime was committed by anybody. It was a pure and complete accident," Isaacs said.

District Attorney Tim Kuykendall alleged that DeLone, who did not testify in his own defense, deliberately ran into Merritt after verbal sparring between Nebraska players and Ruf/Neks prior to the Cornhuskers' game at Oklahoma on Nov. 13. Kuykendall said eight prosecution witnesses testified that a player wearing DeLone's number, 67, appeared to deliberately strike Merritt during blocking drills along the sidelines near the end zone of Owen Field.

"Eight people who were positive. Eight people who were unequivocal in their identification," Kuykendall said.

Kuykendall said that the collision occurred after DeLone allegedly pointed toward the Ruf/Neks and engaged in "trash-talking" with one of them.

"Thirty seconds later, wham!" Kuykendall said as he shoved his fist into his open hand. "He's knocked against the wall. He's got two teeth on the ground."

Merritt lost one tooth in the collision and had another one severed at the gum line. Isaacs argued that Merritt was injured because he was not paying attention and claimed that another player hit the Oklahoma freshman accidentally.

When the verdict was announced, Merritt had no reaction.

Had DeLone been convicted, he could have faced up to five years in prison, up to one year in the county jail or a $500 fine.

In his closing argument, Isaacs pointed out inconsistencies among prosecution witnesses and said it was based on "suggestion and guesswork."

"This is one of the most frightening cases that I've ever seen in my life," Isaacs said.

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