Cal Poly football players appear in court on attempted-robbery charges

The five Cal Poly football players accused of attempting an early morning armed robbery at a San Luis Obispo fraternity house made their first appearance in court Monday.

No pleas were entered by the defendants, most of whom arrived at San Luis Obispo Superior Court with family members and supporters, though one defendant’s attorney said he plans to fight charges.

Given the number of charges and defendants in the high-profile case, a second arraignment was scheduled for Sept. 15.

Cameron Marcel Akins, 19, of Monrovia; Cortland Josiah Fort, 20, of Fontana; Dominique Alize Love, 19, of Poway; Jake Anthony Brito, 18, of Cypress; and Kristaan Sterling Ivory, 20, of Los Angeles are facing multiple felony charges for their alleged roles in the Aug. 10 incident during which members of Delta Sigma Phi were allegedly held at gunpoint.

The five football players are charged with multiple felony counts of conspiracy to commit residential robbery, attempted residential robbery, attempted burglary and false imprisonment, plus several enhancements for using a firearm during a crime.

Akins was also charged with three additional charges of resisting police officers.

Police and prosecutors have not disclosed a specific motive for the attempted robbery, but a complaint filed last week alleges that Akins demanded money and drugs from residents of the house.

According to county Chief Deputy District Attorney Jerret Gran, Akins was the only defendant to physically brandish a firearm in the attempted robbery — a .38 caliber derringer-model handgun that was unloaded at the time of the incident.

In court Monday, Judge Hugh F. Mullin III increased Akins’ bail from $60,000 to $110,000.

Mullin also approved a stay-away order, barring the defendants from making contact with residents at the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity house on the 200 block of California Boulevard.

Los Angeles-based attorney Jacob Glucksman, representing Ivory, stated in court his intention to file a demurrer, which will challenge whether there is enough evidence behind at least one of the counts to proceed.

“After a summary review of the complaint, I don’t think it’s stated with enough legal specificity what (Ivory’s) involvement was in any conspiracy,” Glucksman said following the hearing.

In the 12-count complaint filed by the District Attorney’s Office on Friday, prosecutors listed eight “overt acts” used to justify the conspiracy charge. One is the claim that Ivory left his cell phone and wallet in the rented Kia Optima that was allegedly driven by Fort.

“You have a charge of conspiracy, and the only overt act is that he left his wallet in a car,” Glucksman said.

Ivory, a senior running back on the football team, is the highest-profile of the defendants. He was named Most Valuable Player last season and was only 38 yards away from moving into Cal Poly’s all-time top-10 career rushing list at the time of his arrest.

Matt Lazier, Cal Poly spokesman, said Monday that all five players remain suspended from the football team indefinitely. He said he could not comment on any possible academic disciplinary action due to privacy laws.

Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong released a statement Monday afternoon pledging the university’s cooperation with investigators as well as to conducting its own investigation once criminal proceedings are over.

“Moving forward, we are providing support to the victims in the incident and we are discussing how best to proceed with our efforts to maintain the health and safety of our campus community,” Armstrong wrote in the statement.

This story was originally published August 25, 2014 at 12:11 PM with the headline "Cal Poly football players appear in court on attempted-robbery charges."