A Penn State student will face trial on a felony charge in connection with October's post-Ohio State downtown riot, as his attorney's defense failed Wednesday to sway a Centre County judge against photographic evidence.
Robert Cook, 21, was bound over for trial on a felony charge of riot and misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and criminal mischief. One riot suspect, Will Forester, 19, of Pittsburgh, waived his preliminary hearing and will also face trial; Two other suspects, Penn State student Luke Hagen, 20, and Shane Elie, 18, of Olney, Md., postponed their preliminary hearings until later this month.
That left Cook (senior-kinesiology) at center stage Wednesday morning, his lawyer arguing police wrongfully charged the student with rioting when he had done nothing more than kick a light that had already been torn down.
"There are other monkeys that pushed that light over," defense attorney Philip Masorti said. "It was just one kick."
But State College Police Department Det. Ken Ferron, a witness for prosecutor Nathan Boob, stood firm. Cook is responsible for the entire $3,500 cost of replacing the street lamp he is pictured kicking, Ferron said. And what's more, with a live current running through the downed lamp, Cook endangered himself and those around him, he said.
"Not only could he have injured himself -- he could have injured others by his actions," Ferron said.
According to testimony, photographic evidence placed Cook in the midst of the Oct. 25 riot, one of the 4,000 or so students that jubilantly filled Beaver Avenue. The photograph presented to the judge shows a shirtless Cook kicking the end of a fallen streetlight and smiling, surrounded by cheering onlookers.
Masorti argued Cook's actions did not constitute rioting, as he kicked the light alone and did not visibly encourage others to join him.
Boob objected.
"These pictures are worth a thousand words -- he's making himself the center of attention," he said. "This guy is in the center of it, and we think all these people around him are just standing there?"
Judge Daniel Hoffman sided with the prosecution, sending all of Cook's charges to trial.
Hagen was also in the courtroom awaiting his hearing, but Hoffman agreed to a continuance as the morning dragged on so defense attorney Ron McLaughlin could attend a previously scheduled engagement. Hagen's case is different than Cook's, McLaughlin said -- without giving away any "trade secrets," he said they plan to question the timing of Hagen's actions in relation to when the riot began -- but he believes both students are probably worried about the same thing.
"The bigger headache for these kids is what the university is going to do," he said.
University officials have said Judicial Affairs will evaluate each student's case and hand down "appropriate sanctions."
"My guess is that they're going to take a hard stance on it and they're going to take some drastic action," McLaughlin said.
