SKOKIE — Two Northwestern football players will stand trial in January on charges they tried to force their way into an Evanston resident’s house, a Cook County judge ruled Monday.
Weinberg senior Scott Crohn, an offensive linemen, and Communication senior William Newton were arrested in October and charged with trespassing and disorderly conduct.
On Monday Circuit Court Judge Daniel Jordan scheduled Crohn and Newton’s trial for Jan. 9 in Skokie. The students’ lawyer, Marvin Bloom, told Jordan he was prepared to go to trial immediately, but the judge said he did not have time to hold the trial the same day.
After the hearing Bloom said he is confident about his clients’ chances.
“They should be found not guilty,” he said, “and I expect they will be on Jan. 9.”
Head coach Randy Walker suspended both players indefinitely right after their arrests. Alan Cubbage, vice president for university relations, said federal laws on student privacy prevented him from saying whether the university had brought academic sanctions against Crohn and Newton.
Two other men were arrested in connection with the Evanston incident and appeared before Jordan on Monday. Anthony Bytnar and Colin Gainer — both of whom are students at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind. — will have another hearing Jan. 26 in Skokie, Bloom said.
The four men were all arrested Oct. 4 about 10 p.m., after Jessica Donnelly told police five men had tried to enter her home, on the 900 block of Hamlin Street, while looking for another student.
The fifth man left the scene before the others were arrested and has not been identified, said Cmdr. Michael Perry of Evanston Police Department.
As the men tried to open the door, Donnelly told them to leave, but they refused, according to a police report filed at EPD. The report also stated that the men appeared to be drunk.
The EPD officer who responded to the call reported seeing four men run from the porch as he drove up. Several EPD and University Police officers arrested the men across the street from the house, Perry said.
Donnelly, who hosted a neighborhood meeting last year to discuss problems with student-resident relations, joined about 10 other residents who appeared before Evanston City Council on Oct. 13 and asked the city to take action against students’ rowdy behavior. She also met with University President Henry Bienen on Oct. 14 to discuss the incident.
In response to neighbors’ concerns, the city’s Human Services Committee created a task force composed of students, administrators, neighbors of the university and several aldermen to discuss student-resident issues.
The Daily’s Dalia Naamani-Goldman contributed to this report.
