Charges filed against two AWC football players

Criminal complaints were filed in Yuma Justice Court Thursday against two of the three Arizona Western College football players arrested for allegedly holding up a fellow student in their dorm room earlier this week.

Tony Grimes, 20, of Miramar, Fla,. and Nygee Lockhart, 21, of Clemmons, N.C., were each charged one count of aggravated robbery and one count of burglary during separate court hearings before Yuma Justice of the Peace Greg Stewart.

No complaint was filed against Khambrel Garland, 20, of Deerfield Beach, Fla., with Stewart informing him that the Yuma County Attorney's Office had declined to charge him with any crimes.

“That means there are no charges against you at this time,” Stewart said. “You will be released if there is nothing further holding you in custody.”

Stewart warned him, however, that the county attorney's office still could file charges against him, and if it does, he would be issued a summons to appear in court.

According to the AWC Police Department, at about 5:30 p.m. Monday, officers responded to report of an armed robbery in one of the college's dorm rooms.

Once there, the victim told officers he was confronted by the suspects, who robbed him of his cash while brandishing a bladed weapon. The victim was not injured.

An investigation led to the identification of four suspects, all AWC students. Assisted by the Yuma Police Department, AWC police took three of the suspects into custody at the college. A fourth suspect was later detained.

All of the suspects were taken to the Yuma Police Department for questioning, which resulted in three of them being arrested and booked into the Yuma County jail. The fourth suspect was released from custody.

While Lockhart's bond remained at $25,000, Stewart decided Thursday after reviewing the probable cause statements and due to the seriousness of the charges to increase Grimes' bond to the same amount, saying he felt he was just as responsible in the crime as his co-defendant.

Stewart told Lockhart during his hearing that while he did not change his bond amount, based on the circumstances the case and the severity of the charges, if he had, he would have been inclined to increase it.

In addition to appointing a public defender to represent Grimes and Lockhart, the judge scheduled their next court dates for 4 p.m. May 11 for preliminary hearings. When asked during their hearings if they could afford to hire their own attorneys, Lockhart said he couldn't because he was a student and worked for McDonald's. Grimes said he had never held a job.

James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854. Find him on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/YSJamesGilbert or on Twitter @YSJamesGilbert.