US Marshals arrested Robertson without incident
United States Marshals confirmed they arrested Auston Robertson on Saturday in his hometown of Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Steve Hetherington, a supervisory deputy for the U.S. Marshal’s Western District of Michigan office, said this morning that the former Michigan State football player had been apprehended without incident and with the help of Fort Wayne Police. Allen County Jail confirmed Robertson was arrested around 5:50 p.m. Saturday and remains in custody.
Robertson is awaiting a return to Michigan after allegedly raping a female MSU student in her apartment in Meridian Township, adjacent to East Lansing. The 19-year-old waived his extradition rights this morning in Fort Wayne, according to Allen Superior Court 4 records, and a court clerk said he is waiting to be transported back to Michigan.
Robertson faces a charge of third-degree criminal sexual conduct. Robertson faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. He is expected to be arranged Tuesday in 55th District Court, and his bond already has been set at $75,000. Meridian Township Police in a news release said the department does not have information about the extradition process or timetable.
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During a hearing Friday in 55th District Court in Mason, Sgt. Brad Bach testified that Meridian Township Police were concerned Robertson could be a flight risk. Bach said Robertson fled to Indiana and returned to East Lansing before he was officially charged Friday morning.
Robertson had walked the woman to her apartment sometime after 11 p.m. on April 8 to make sure she got there safely, and then once they were inside the apartment he "forcefully" had sex with the woman despite her "telling him to stop and telling him no," Meridian Township Police Detective Rebecca Payne testified during a hearing Friday morning.
The incident allegedly involving Robertson is separate from the ongoing criminal investigation into three other unnamed MSU players and a staff member who the university announced were suspended Feb. 9. That case remains under review by the Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office.
The 6-foot-4, 281-pound Robertson, who was a four-star recruit, played seven games as a true freshman for the Spartans during the 2016 season. He made three tackles and forced a fumble. Robertson also played defensive end during MSU’s spring game on April 1.
It is the second serious allegation of physical misconduct levied against Robertson. He was arrested in January 2016 on a misdemeanor battery charge stemming from an October 2015 incident at his high school, Wayne High. Robertson was accused of improperly touching a female classmate, according to Allen Superior Court 4 records. He entered into a diversionary program for that case, which he completed March 11.
Those charges were cleared from his record March 22 – 18 days before the latest allegations against him – after he fulfilled the terms of his diversionary program and by not getting into further trouble, according to court records.
Robertson also had charges dropped in September 2015 after allegations of criminal mischief/damaging property and resisting law enforcement, according to Allen Superior Court 5 records.
Contact Chris Solari:csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter@chrissolari. Download our Spartans Xtra app for free onAppleandAndroiddevices!