U.VA student Martese Johnson to plead not guilty in controversial Alcohol and Beverage Control arrest

Martese Johnson, the University of Virginia student arrested by Virginia Alcohol and Beverage Control police, will be in court on March 26, reports CBS6-TV.

Johnson plans to enter a plea of not guilty. He is charged with obstruction of justice and being drunk in public and/or swearing. The Virginia State Police have opened an investigation at the request of Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who was approached by university president Teresa Sullivan.

A now-viral video captured the scene directly after Johnson was arrested by three ABC agents. In the video, the third-year college student has a bloodied face and can be heard cursing at the officers and calling them racists. The wounds sustained by Johnson required multiple stitches to close.

“The bystanders and credible witnesses that I spoke with indicated that he did not resist arrest,” said university vice president Dr. Marcus Martin. “However, he was charged to my knowledge, on obstructing justice as well as being drunk in public, neither of which seems to have occurred.”

The known facts presented by Johnson’s lawyer Daniel Watkins are that the arrest was made after midnight the night of St. Patrick’s Day. Johnson was on the sidewalk near Trinity Irish pub when he was approached by an employee and asked him for identification, said Watkins.

“At no time throughout the encounter did Martese present, as has been reported by some in the media, a fake ID,” said Watkins. “Nevertheless, Virginia ABC officers who were present on the scene questioned my client about being in possession of false identification.”

Johnson presented a valid ID card that was issued in 2011. However, the employee proceeded to quiz him on the card’s zip code, and Johnson gave the Chicago zip code at his mother’s address, which differed from the Chicago zip code on the card.

Kevin Badke, who owns Trinity Irish Pub, said that moments prior to the scene in the now-viral video of Johnson’s arrest, he was polite and well-mannered.

An Indiegogo account was created over the weekend by the group UVA Alumni for Change in conjunction with Mr. Johnson’s fraternity brothers, to help with the student’s legal and medical costs.

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