Robert Champion performs with Florida A&M University's Marching 100 band during halftime of a football game in Orlando, Fla., Nov. 19. Champion died later that day. (Photo: Joseph Brown III, AP)
ORLANDO, Fla. -- The first of a dozen defendants charged in last
year's hazing death of a Florida A&M drum major will be sentenced on
a third-degree felony charge.
Judge Marc Lubet will sentence
Brian Jones on Monday. The 23-year-old entered a no-contest plea Oct. 9
after initially pleading not guilty.
In agreeing to the plea deal,
Lubet said Jones' role in the hazing death of Robert Champion was
relatively minimal. Lubet said Jones did not beat or hit Champion.
Champion
died in November after being beaten by fellow band members during a
hazing ritual aboard a bus parked outside an Orlando hotel after a
football game.
Eleven other FAMU band members face felony hazing charges. Another band member faces a misdemeanor count for hazing.
Associated Press