CMU football player found not guilty of assault charges


Fountain: "I'm happy my name has been cleared"


After a four-day trial that ended Thursday, Central Michigan University football player Malik Fountain was found not guilty of four assault charges.

The Chicago native was arrested April 7 for allegedly assaulting Saginaw residents Chylcie Lett and Mackenzie Maul on Dec. 2 near the disc jockey table at Wayside Central in Mount Pleasant. Fountain, a sophomore, was charged with one count of aggravated assault, two counts of assault and battery and one count of jostling.

After deliberating for less than 30 minutes Thursday, the jury announced the not guilty verdict.

"I'm happy my name has been cleared and I don't have to worry about this situation any more," Fountain said. "I'm not that person they tried to claim I was. I was raised right and raised in a good family. There's no way I would ever do something such as this."


Witnesses testify in trial against CMU student-athlete Malik Fountain


Defense attorney Joe Barberi said Fountain could have pleaded no-contest to the jostling charge as part of a deal presented to him on June 10 by the prosecutor's office. The other assault charges would have been dropped. Fountain rejected the offer. 

"I'm not pleading to something I never did," Fountain said.

Barberi said the defense team tried to convince Isabella County Assistant Prosecutor Lawrence King months earlier that the complainants were not being honest and the charges had no merit. The not guilty verdict, he said, was a win for justice and for the entire community. 

"I was very appreciative of the jurors' attention throughout the trial," Barberi said. "I was also appreciative of their smiles on the way out (after the verdict). I got a few thumbs up from a couple of the jurors. This is a case I wish would never have been tried." 

The six jurors — two white men, a black woman and three white women — hugged the Fountain family outside the courthouse Thursday. One female juror told Fountain's father, who was crying outside the courthouse, they were convinced of their decision on the second day of the trial, saying "we knew two days ago."   

According to Rob Wyman, assistant athletics director for communication, Fountain remains indefinitely suspended, while the athletics department continues to evaluate the situation.

Share: 

About Andrew Surma

Central Michigan Life Sports Editor

Central Michigan Life Editor in Chief (Summer 2016)

Central ...

View Posts by Andrew Surma →