Bail hearing held for former Rutgers football player accused of armed robbery

The judge overseeing a hearing for one of the Rutgers football players accused in a string of armed robberies hinted that he would reduce the cost of bail, but not as far as the defense attorney had requested.

News 12 Staff

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Sep 19, 2015, 1:46 AM

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Updated 3,276 days ago

The judge overseeing a hearing for one of the Rutgers football players accused in a string of armed robberies hinted that he would reduce the cost of bail, but not as far as the defense attorney had requested.

Former Scarlet Knight Andre Boggs, 20, is accused of three armed robberies. He was in court seeking to have his bail reduced from $600,000 to $50,000.

Boggs has no prior criminal record.

"He has everything to lose and nothing to gain if he doesn't come back to court," said Boggs' attorney, Jim Donohue. "He wants to regain his reputation, and he will be here."

Donohue also pointed out that Boggs' mother has lupus, and handed the judge several letters as character references, including one from a 12-year-old who vouched for Boggs as a mentor.

The alleged robberies date back to April. Boggs is accused of wearing a ski mask and brandishing weapons during home invasions along with two other suspects.

Donohue said that Boggs is innocent and argued that the victims in the case are drug dealers and cannot be trusted as witnesses, but Judge Dennis Nieves cut him off.

"Today is not about proving anything to me," Nieves said. "It's about you telling me why I should lower his bail, because I just want him to show up."

Nieves said he would reduce bail, but not all the way down to $50,000.