Warrants not yet issued for players

Warrants have not yet been requested for Michigan football players allegedly involved in a fight outside the Sigma Chi fraternity house early Friday morning.

Michigan football players Jason Brooks, Ray Jackson and William Peterson were seen by a witness and Sigma Chi members involved in the incident that occurred outside the fraternity house at 548 S. State St.

Since the case is still under investigation by the Ann Arbor Police Department, it is not known when or even if warrants will be requested by the police.

"That all depends on when charges are filed" by the fraternity members, AAPD Sgt. Michael Logghe said yesterday.

A fraternity representative, who asked not to be identified, said several reports were filed with the AAPD. "It's now in the hands of the legal system," he said.

Washtenaw County Prosecutor Joseph Burke confirmed that warrant requests had not yet been filed with his office yesterday.

"I imagine that it will take a few days, since it is under investigation," Burke said.

Michigan Athletic Department Director Tom Goss was still in Texas yesterday, and department officials would not confirm whether Brooks, Jackson and Peterson were involved in the fight or comment on the incident.

AAPD officials confirmed fraternity reports that a television set was thrown from an upper-story window. Fraternity members said Brooks threw the television from a third-story window at 1:30 a.m.

A fraternity representative said Brooks was caught attempting to steal a laptop computer from a bedroom at approximately 2:15 a.m.

Brooks left the scene, but fraternity members found him trying to steal a Sony PlayStation and a portable phone when the items fell out of his coat, fraternity representatives allege.

In reaction to the attempted theft, Sigma Chi members called 911 and AAPD officers were dispatched at 2:23 a.m.

Fraternity representatives said Sunday that after Brooks returned, the offensive tackle knocked a Sigma Chi member to the ground and pulled another member over the fence that separates the sidewalk from the fraternity's front lawn.

After a pause in the fight, Jackson, a fullback, reportedly hit a fraternity member, knocking him unconscious and giving him fractures to his cheekbone and nose.

The injured Sigma Chi member was admitted to the University Hospitals emergency room for treatment and was released approximately at 11:00 a.m. Friday, said the fraternity representative.

The victim is discussing the possibility of filing charges with his family, said the fraternity representative.

Fraternity members said Sunday that Brooks, Jackson and Peterson fled the scene when they heard AAPD sirens.

An LSA first-year student, who asked not to be identified, witnessed the fight on her way to visit a friend at Martha Cook Residence Hall and said Sunday she saw Peterson, a cornerback, involved in the fight.

One suspect questioned after the altercation told police they were acting in self-defense.

Fraternity members said an unidentified football player tried to break up the fight. Sigma Chi members have stressed they have nothing against the football team.

"We are not trying to get them in any more trouble than they already are in," the fraternity representative said.

No arrests were made, but charges that could be filed include larceny, felonious assault and aggravated assault, fraternity members said Sunday.

Brooks, Jackson and Peterson could not be reached for comment.

- The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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