Defensive end Charles Grant was on the practice field with the Saints on Wednesday morning, but today he will make his first court appearance in Early County, Ga., after being indicted on a charge of involuntary manslaughter.
Grant will appear before a county magistrate, and bond likely will be set, according to his attorney, Edward Tolley of Athens, Ga.
Grant is expected to return to New Orleans on Friday and rejoin the team for its offseason program. But the charge he faces is serious, so this could be just the beginning of a lengthy legal process.
"I don't know if it's going to end quickly or not, but there's not going to be a plea arrangement," Tolley said. "We will enter a plea of not guilty (at a later date)."
Grant declined comment at the Saints' practice facility and through his attorney.
Saints Coach Sean Payton and NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said they will continue to monitor the situation, but it is too early to speculate on a possible outcome.
Grant was one of seven men indicted on the manslaughter charge, stemming from their involvement in a fight on the morning of Feb. 3 that resulted in the shooting death of Korynda Reed, 23, a pregnant bystander.
The alleged shooter, Laquient Macklin, is a close friend of Grant, according to Tolley. Macklin was also indicted on the charges of felony murder, feticide and aggravated assault. Two of the other men charged with involuntary manslaughter are Grant's cousins, according to Tolley, and the other three men are not connected to his client.
Tolley maintains, however, that Grant was not a willing participant or instigator in the melee, which began inside a Blakely, Ga., nightclub and spilled outside. Grant was stabbed in the neck, and Tolley said that Grant and his friends were being chased away by "a mob of people" when Macklin fired the gun in the air as an act of self defense. The bullet apparently struck Reed.
Blakely, about three hours south of Atlanta, is near Grant's hometown of Colquitt, Ga
"In my view, Charles is a victim," Tolley said. "A man ran up behind him and stabbed him with a knife. Our position has not changed. Charles was not involved in the fight. Whether you can be a passive participant in a fight, I don't know. . . . We're going to wait for a judge to help us sort it out."
Back in February, the Early County Sheriff's Office had appeared to reach the same conclusion as Tolley. Capt. Will Caudill, a chief investigator with the sheriff's office, said that Grant was not considered an instigator or a willing participant, and that he was considered a victim, not a perpetrator.
On Wednesday, Early County District Attorney Charles Ferguson declined comment on Grant's case or the decision to charge him.
"I think it's a very unusual case," Ciolino said. "What essentially the DA is arguing is that because he was involved in the fight, and the fight led to a shooting, that he is or should be held responsible for the death, even though no one contends he had the intent to kill.
"We don't know about all the evidence. Obviously, the prosecutors think that he was complicit in starting or continuing the fight, and that his participation in the fight was unjustified, in the sense that he was not involved in the fight merely to defend himself or someone else. I think we can infer that from the indictment."
If convicted of the felony charge of involuntary manslaughter in Georgia, Grant could face one to 10 years in prison.
Payton said the Saints will continue to support Grant and encourage him to cooperate with the authorities.
"Obviously it's something that we take very seriously, and certainly our condolences go out to the family," Payton said Wednesday. "What's most important is the justice system taking its process. It's something that the league will handle and certainly the state of Georgia will handle.
"The bottom line is that they are very serious charges and we're going to support him right now and do our best to help him, and help the league and help the state of Georgia with their investigation. I know Charles has been available and made an effort to do everything just as they want. And certainly that would be our advice to him."
Saints tackle Jon Stinchcomb, who has known Grant since they were teammates at Georgia, said he and his teammates were surprised by the latest development because they thought the situation had been resolved. But he admitted, "I don't have a clue about the details."
"I consider Charles family. We've been around each other for almost a decade now," Stinchcomb said. "Any time you have someone so close involved in a situation where there's lives lost, your heart goes out for all involved."
The last time Grant spoke about the incident was late March, when he, too, seemed to believe he had been cleared of any wrongdoing.
"I pray for that girl and her family every night and hope they find out what really happened," Grant said at the time.
