Hearing Resumes Monday In EMU Football Player's Robbery-Slaying
PITTSFIELD TWP. (WWJ/AP) - A hearing for two young Detroit men charged in the robbery and fatal shooting of an Eastern Michigan University football player is set to resume next week.
A probable cause hearing for 20-year-olds Kristopher Pratt and Ed Thomas was scheduled to continue Wednesday in the death of Demarius Reed, but a judge postponed the hearing after a material witness invoked their Fifth Amendment rights.
Thomas and Pratt are accused of killing Reed on Oct. 18 in the hallway of the off-campus University Green apartments, on Green Road near Leforge Road, where Reed lived. Police said Reed was shot multiple times, including at least once in the face, during a robbery.
According to investigators, a party was taking place at the time Reed was killed. Ypsilanti's Interim Police Chief Tony DeGiusti said several students at the party reported hearing gunshots, but none of them called police. He also said at least one person walked past Reed as he lay on the stairwell, but didn't call the police "because they just thought he was someone passed-out from the party."
Investigators say they matched bullet casings found near Reed's body with Pratt's 9mm gun.
Thomas and Pratt, who are being held in jail without bond, are both charged with open murder, armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery.
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