Silliman's Papers

Carter fails to appear for sentencing
Student admits guilt; plea bargain would have reduced charges
By Daniel Silliman
Collegian Staff Writer

Hillsdale College student and former basketball player Edward James Carter, 23, failed to appear in court Wednesday for sentencing.

Failure to appear in court could result in a contempt of court charge. It is not clear how the failure to appear will affect the plea bargain.

Originally facing five felonies and one misdemeanor with a maximum sentence of 21 years imprisonment, prosecutors agreed to drop the felonies if Carter, a Detroit native who finished his course work in December and planned to graduate in May, pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana and assuming false pretenses, the business equivalent to perjury.

The sentence recommended by the probation officer for the reduced charges was one month imprisonment and a suspended license for 18 months.

Before graduating Carter will have to fulfill all civil requirements in addition to the school requirements he has already met.

Carter was arrested on March 9 when he visited the room of Adam Schaper, who the police were talking to at the time about the possibility that Schaper’s credit cards had been stolen. When the police interviewed Carter they found the two credit cards belonging to Schaper, a baggie of marijuana, and Zig-Zag rolling paper in his pockets.

In a handwritten statement Carter confessed to stealing two credit cards from Schaper and buying alcohol with one card and attempting to buy two gold chains and a bracelet, costing $1,482, from Meyer’s Jewel Box.

Carter returned to campus with $600 to pay the college money he owed them so he could graduate in May, he said. He stayed the night at an off-campus house. Saturday morning, Carter wrote, he drank vodka and stopped by Simpson to see some friends, suite mates of Schaper. He stepped into Schaper’s room to see if his friends were in there. No one was there and the two credit cards were on a shelf.

Carter took them.

“This was not planned,” Carter wrote. “Didn’t know what to do with the cards. So I went to the jewerly (sic.) store to purchase jewerly (sic).”

When interviewed by police Carter told them he had bought the two cards for $300 from a stranger at the jewelry store, court documents say. The officer told Carter he thought Carter was lying and wanted to hear the real story.

The officer told Carter an armed robbery had taken place in Jackson and the suspect was seen driving from the scene in a vehicle identical to Carter’s, a white four-door Buick. Under pressure Carter changed his story and wrote out the statement describing how he came upon the credit cards and, without thinking, took them.

Clerks at Meyer’s Jewel Box grew suspicious after “a tall black man” started to sign his name Edward Carter, crossed it out and wrote Schaper. When asked for more identification Carter decided not to buy the jewelry and the store manager called the police, giving them a description of Carter, including details of his tattoo and his clothing.

The prosecution agreed to drop the felonies for the lesser charge if Carter pleaded guilty to the lesser charges Wednesday.

Carter’s lawyer, Hillsdale resident Jack Barker, suggested Wednesday to the judge that Carter was having car trouble or was stuck in traffic. Barker said in court he was unable to contact his client but his office had sent Carter a notice of the court appointment in addition to the court’s notice.