New England Patriots seventh-round draft pick Alfonzo Dennard has waived his right to a preliminary hearing in an assault case against him (via WEEI).
Dennard, who played for Nebraska in college, was accused of striking an officer outside of a Lincoln, Nebraska bar on April 21. He will be arraigned on May 30. If convicted of third-degree felony assault of a police officer, Dennard could face five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Dennard had been projected to be a much higher draft pick than a seventh rounder before his arrest. Patriots coach Bill Belichick said the organization was aware of the arrest
"Alfonzo is a guy who we spent a lot of time on. Obviously the incident affected his draft position," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said shortly after New England selected Dennard. "But certainly we're aware of it. We researched it, we found out as much as we could about it. Obviously as an organization we were comfortable taking the selection where we did. ... There's obviously some other things that are currently out there from a legal standpoint that I obviously can't comment on."
Dennard is currently free on $5,000 bond.
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