Testimony of tears and pot sales in Cal Poly football case
January 14, 2015
Cameron Akins
One suspect cried when he heard there was a gun and another admitted to talk of a plan to rob a marijuana salesman, a San Luis Obispo police detective testified Tuesday in a court hearing for former Cal Poly football players accused of conspiring to rob a frat house. [Tribune]
Jake Brito, 18; Kristaan Ivory, 20; Dominique Love, 19; and Cortland Fort, 20, returned to court Tuesday for the second day of preliminary hearings in which a judge will determine if enough evidence exists to bring their cases to trial. A fifth defendant and former Cal Poly football player, Cameron Akins, 19, is also accused of partaking in the attempted robbery of the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity house last August.
Police identified Akins as the man who carried an unloaded gun onto the property and subsequently engaged in a physical struggle with both fraternity members and officers.
On Tuesday, police detective Amy Chastain testified about her interviews with the defendants. Chastain said that Brito was shocked when she told him that a gun was involved in the robbery.
Brito then began to shake and cry, Chastain said.
Chastain testified that Ivory told her a group of players had been partying on the night of the robbery, and one of them suggested taking money from a fraternity member from whom he had previously purchased marijuana.
After the attempted robbery, sources told CalCoastNews that an ongoing dispute over marijuana sales existed between football players and fraternity members. Nearly a month after the incident, officers arrested the former president of the fraternity for allegedly selling marijuana out of the same house.
On Monday, lead detective Eric Vitale testified his investigation determined that all five defendants left the party with the intent of stealing marijuana, cash and electronics.
Chastain testified on Tuesday that Ivory told her that he and Brito tried to convince the group not to commit the planned robbery. Ivory also told her that he and Brito both walked away when the group pulled up to the fraternity house, Chastain said.
Testimony in the case will continue on Wednesday afternoon.
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