Justice Won’t Face Felony Charges; Case Is Referred to City

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office on Tuesday declined to file felony assault charges against USC offensive lineman Winston Justice and referred his case to the Los Angeles city attorney for possible filing of misdemeanor charges.

Justice, a 19-year-old sophomore, was arrested March 3 on suspicion of felony assault with a deadly weapon after allegedly displaying a firearm during an argument in a parking lot near campus on Feb. 24. No injuries resulted from the incident.

Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the county district attorney’s office, said that after reviewing a police investigation, prosecutors could not prove that Justice brandished a real gun. Robison said the city attorney’s office could file misdemeanor charges of brandishing a replica.

The city attorney has three days to review the case and decide whether Justice will be charged, spokesman Frank Mateljan said. The penalty for brandishing a replica carries a maximum sentence of 180 days in jail.

Justice, who is on probation after pleading no contest in July to a misdemeanor count of solicitation of prostitution in Long Beach, is scheduled to be arraigned today in Los Angeles Superior Court for his latest arrest, Mateljan said.

Neither Justice nor his attorney could be reached for comment Tuesday. After Justice turned himself in and was arrested at the Los Angeles Police Department’s Southwest Division station on March 3, USC ruled him ineligible for spring practice, which began March 6 and resumes Thursday. He also was suspended indefinitely from classes and university activities pending a review by USC’s office of student judicial affairs and community standards.

USC’s student conduct code forbids the “unauthorized use or possession of firearms or replicas, ammunition, explosives, knives or other weapons in the university community or at university-sponsored events.”

Marcell Allmond sat out the 2001 season after he was suspended for a semester by a USC panel for his role in a series of violent off-the-field incidents. He returned to school and played cornerback in 2002 and 2003.

USC Coach Pete Carroll has refused to comment on the specifics of Justice’s situation and how it could affect his standing in the program. Last fall, Justice was put through extra conditioning as punishment for his legal problems. He was not held out of any games as the Trojans finished 12-1 and won a share of the national championship.