COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – A Coldwater high school senior has entered a plea to a misdemeanor charge following an incident last month on a school bus.
A Branch County District Court spokesperson says 18-year-old Jay Allen Neusbaum the third entered a no contest plea last week to a charge of disorderly person which carries a maximum jail sentence of 90 days.
Neusbaum is scheduled to be sentenced April 16, 2018.
The original charge of ethnic intimidation has been dismissed by prosecutors in exchange for the no contest plea. Ethnic intimidation carries a maximum prison sentence of up to 2-years and or a $5,000 fine.
Coldwater City Police said Neusbaum, who lives in Quincy, and a 15-year-old friend of his from Quincy Township got into an argument February 22, 2018, which included swearing, threats to others on the bus, and the use of an inappropriate racial slur.
Police say the matter wasn’t reported to the high school administration until more than a week later on March 2.
They added in a statement that the situation was not a physical confrontation and at no time during the incident was anyone in danger of any physical harm.
