A UTM student has been permanently suspended from the university and arrested on assault and weapon charges after an altercation that began on the morning of Saturday, Dec. 11 at an off campus party and continued to Browning Residence Hall.

Kendrick Triggs, 23, of Memphis, Tenn., was arrested and jailed on Saturday, Dec. 11, on charges of aggravated assault and carrying a weapon on school property. Triggs has been released from the Weakley County Detention Center on a bail amount of $5,000.

Three witnesses interviewed by the Department of Public Safety said that Triggs pointed a .22 caliber pistol to the head of another student, Taurean Stephens, while in a room in Browning Hall.

Because of an ongoing investigation, the Martin Police Department and the Department of Public Safety did not release their reports until Dec. 15, three days after the incident occurred. The police departments interviewed several witnesses to determine the summary of events that led up to the arrest of Triggs.

On Dec. 10 and through the morning of Dec. 11, the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity was hosting a party at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) fraternity house located off campus on Lee Street. The party was advertised on the UTM campus as the “Punch-Out Party.”

At about 2:15 a.m., people began to push one another on the dance floor, causing the crowd to make its way outside. A fight occurred outside that involved several people. Witnesses say that the victim of the fight was non-student Joel Schluter, 26, of Memphis, Tenn.

According to the report released by the Department of Public Safety, Schluter was hit and kicked by individuals identified as UTM student Nathan Bryant, 18, of Bedford, Va., and UTM student Desmon Gault, 19, of Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Martin Police report also lists UTM student Taurean Stephens, 21, of Cincinnati, Ohio, as one of the students involved in the assault of Schluter. In their report, Martin Police also say that a witness observed Schluter trying to leave the party. According to the witness and the police report, Schluter was “surrounded by numerous individuals identified as UTM football players.”

The student in charge of the party, Michael Tracy, notified the Martin Police Department. When police arrived, the party attendees began to separate and leave the scene.

Schluter, the victim of the assault, told police that he was knocked to the ground and kicked about the upper torso and head. Responding officer for Martin Police Department, Sgt. Jason Arant, said that he observed Schluter to have boot prints on his back and that his face was swollen and bruised.

Police believed that the incident had been settled for the night. However, a second situation developed in the Browning Residence Hall nearly one hour later outside the dorm room of Taurean Stephens.

Stephens told the Department of Public Safety that at about 3:10 that morning he was approached outside his dorm room by two men identified as UTM student Andre Chatman, 22, of Martin and Kendrick Triggs. Stephens said that he immediately went to his room and was approached by three other subjects that were identified as Justen Smith, 22, of Memphis, Tenn., Jeremy Kelley, 22, of Louisville, Ky., and Schluter.

When the men approached Stephens, they were reported to have yelled racial slurs and threatened bodily harm. Statements were also made in reference to the earlier incident that occurred at the SAE fraternity house.

When Triggs entered the room, he reportedly displayed the .22 caliber handgun and pointed the weapon directly at Stephen’s head. Chatman was reported to have possibly been in possession of a .9MM handgun as well. One of the students in the room, Desmon Gault, was able to escape through the bathroom door and report the incident to a desk worker in the lobby. Stephens began to fight with Triggs, Chatman and Schluter. When they were notified that the police were on their way the three men exited the room and left the building.

No one was severely hurt during the incident in the residence hall. No shots were fired. The occupants of the room said that Kelly was present during the incident, but that he did not threaten or assault anyone.

All involved parties were taken to the Department of Public Safety to be interviewed and to fill out written statements. Schluter was taken to the hospital because of multiple cuts and bruises reported to have been suffered during the assault.

After officers reviewed the statements of the involved parties, it was determined that there was enough information to arrest Triggs on charges of aggravated assault and carrying a weapon on school property. No other arrests have been made by the Department of Public Safety or the Martin Police Department in connection with either of the incidents.

Police were not able to find any weapons involved in the incident but say that an investigation to locate the weapons is still ongoing. Director of University Relations, Bud Grimes, released a statement on Tuesday, Dec. 14, stating that Triggs has been permanently suspended from the university. In a follow up interview on Wednesday, Dec. 15, Grimes stated that the Office of Student Affairs was conducting its own investigation to determine if disciplinary measures will be brought forth against any of the students involved, but that it was not able to release any specific information.

Triggs and Bryant are former football player for the UTM Skyhawks. Stephens and Gault, who were accused of being involved in the assault against Schluter (along with Bryant), are currently players for the UTM football team, and Kelly and Smith are players for the UTM men’s basketball team.

Neither the Martin Police Department nor the Department of Public Safety is able to confirm what caused the first fight to occur at the SAE Fraternity house.