Ex-Husker found innocent in assault case

NORMAN, Okla. -- A former Nebraska football player was acquitted Wednesday of an aggravated assault and battery charge stemming from a pregame incident in which an Oklahoma spirit squad member was injured.

A jury deliberated for less than three hours before declaring Darren DeLone innocent of the felony charge.

DeLone's attorney, Garvin Isaacs, said in his closing arguments Wednesday that the 6-foot-5, 315-pound former Nebraska offensive lineman was wrongfully accused and that the injuries suffered by 19-year-old Adam Merritt, a member of OU's Ruf/Nek spirit group, were accidental.

Isaacs pointed out inconsistencies among prosecution witnesses and said their testimony was based on "suggestion and guesswork."

District Attorney Tim Kuykendall alleged that DeLone, who did not testify in his own defense, deliberately ran into Merritt after verbal sparring between Nebraska players and Ruf/Neks prior to the Cornhuskers' game at Oklahoma on Nov. 13.

Kuykendall said that the collision occurred after DeLone allegedly pointed toward the Ruf/Neks and engaged in "trash-talking" with one of them.

Merritt lost one tooth in the collision and had another one severed at the gum line. Isaacs argued that Merritt was injured because he was not paying attention and claimed that another player hit the Oklahoma freshman accidentally.

Had DeLone been convicted, he could have faced up to five years in prison, up to one year in the county jail or a $500 fine.