NC State’s Markell Johnson facing assault charges

The suspended sophomore guard was indicted in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, and is scheduled for a pretrial conference on Thursday

NC State coach Kevin Keatts talks to guard Markell Johnson during a game against Penn State earlier this season (Rob Kinnan/USA TODAY Sports)

When Markell Johnson was suspended indefinitely from the NC State basketball team on Dec. 16, the reason given was a nonspecific violation of the school’s student-athlete code of conduct.

It’s now known what that violation was.

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Eleven days earlier, the sophomore guard was indicted in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, and charged with felonious assault along with co-defendants Michael Melton Jr., Johnnie Pullum and Demarious Green. The alleged victim, Michael Blackwell, suffered a broken orbital bone, multiple cuts and a concussion in the incident, which took place on Oct. 8, according to a police report.

According to a court document posted on the Cuyahoga County Court Clerk website, Johnson turned himself in on Dec. 20 and was released on a $5,000 cash bond. He appeared before Judge Maureen Clancy for a pretrial conference on Thursday. His case was continued until sometime early next month.

Coach Kevin Keatts has declined comment on specifics involving Johnson’s case.

Johnson, a 6-foot-1 sophomore point guard, started the first 10 games for the Wolfpack this season. He scored a career-high 17 points in his final game before being suspended, on Dec.  9 against Missouri-Kansas City, and is averaging 8.7 points and 6.6 assists this season.

Per university policy, he will remain suspended until his case is resolved.