Martese Johnson will be in Charlottesville General District Court Thursday morning for his first hearing. Johnson is the UVA student arrested on charges of public intoxication and obstruction of justice. That after being denied entry to the Trinity Irish Pub on the University Corner.
Johnson will plead not guilty, according to his attorney Daniel Watkins. He says the Charlottesville Commonwealth’s Attorney is asking that the case be continued until the last week of May so State Police can complete an investigation. Watkins says his client is recovering from wounds suffered when he was arrested by ABC agents.
Below are statements from both the Watkins’ law firm and the State Police, which is thanking people for coming forward with tips and other information as they work on the investigation.
Release from Williams Mullen:
Martese is doing well physically. He visited the doctor this weekend to follow up on his injuries because he was concerned about some swelling, but he was not admitted to the hospital. He’s home now and continuing to recover.
Today, Daniel Watkins met with the Irish Pub, and his lawyer. They all have said the same thing: moments prior to what the now viral video presents, Martese was polite and well-mannered.
Mr. Johnson has a court date on Thursday (March 26) at 10am, at which he will enter a plea of not guilty. As Mr. Watkins and Mr. Johnson focus on preparing for the hearing, they are continuing to refrain from any media interviews at this time.
In the meantime, the Commonwealth’s Attorney office has asked to continue the case until the last week of May so the Virginia State Police can complete its investigation. At that time, the prosecutor will determine whether it wishes to proceed with the two charges against Martese.
As a nice side note, an Indiegogo account (https://life.indiegogo.com/fundraisers/justiceformartese–2) was started over the weekend by the group UVA Alumni for Change in conjunction with Mr. Johnson’s fraternity brothers (the group and the fundraising account have been vetted by Mr. Watkins) and was able to raise $6,000 within a matter of hours.
