FAMU hazing defendant Shawn Turner, who claimed he was drum major Robert Champion‘s “protector” and not an attacker, agreed today to plead no contest to felony hazing in the deadly ritual.
Turner, 27, will likely receive a community-service sentence similar to those imposed on other band members who have admitted they were present at the hazing, Orange-Osceola assistant state attorney Nicole Pegues said. Prosecutors will drop the manslaughter count in the agreement, which requires Turner to provide investigators with detailed testimony about Nov. 19, 2011, hazing that killed Champion.
Turner, who has moved from Florida to North Carolina, was ordered to appear in court Friday, when Champion’s parents are expected to travel from Georgia to Orlando for the sentencing of fellow drum major Rikki Wills.
Like Wills, who pleaded no contest last month, Turner has insisted he was only trying to shield Champion from the punches, kicks and drumstick strikes on a charter bus in the Rosen Plaza hotel parking lot.
No one has acknowledged striking Champion during the ritual known as “Crossing Bus C,” but detectives estimated he absorbed 300 blows while running through a gantlet of bandmates.
