Former Tokay football player pleads not guilty to assault

A judge ordered a former Tokay High School football player to remain in jail on $275,000 bail after he pleaded not guilty Monday to assault and burglary charges.

Kevin Wiley

Kevin Marche Wiley, 19, who is playing football on a scholarship to a Texas college, was arrested Friday after allegedly breaking into his ex-girlfriend's Lodi home and assaulting her brother.

San Joaquin County prosecutors on Monday filed five felony charges, two of which could be strikes under California's three-strikes law. Under the law, a defendant receives longer sentences if convicted of future violent felonies.

Wiley has no previous court records, and his mother, briefly addressing Judge David P. Warner, said Wiley has never been in trouble.

Deputy Public Defender Matthew Kowalski had asked that Wiley be released from custody. A lifelong Stockton resident, Wiley was about to start a summer job in Manteca until resuming his studies at McPherson College in Kansas, where is studying on a scholarship, Kowalski said.

Countering Kowalski's request, Deputy District Attorney Roy Shannon briefly described Friday's incident, saying that it "amounts to a home invasion."

Wiley allegedly went to a West Lockeford Street home where his former girlfriend lives with their 13-month-old son. She refused to open the door so he broke down the door and charged at the ex-girlfriend's 17-year-old brother, according to Lodi police.

Wiley punched the teen and bashed his head against the wall, police said.

The 17-year-old had picked up a knife when the door opened, police said Friday, and Wiley was cut in the process, requiring treatment at the hospital. He appeared in court with a bandage around his left forearm.

The teen was also taken to the hospital, and was soon released.

The 17-year-old was not arrested, and Shannon said he does not expect his office to file any charges against him. The youth is significantly smaller than Wiley, Shannon said.

Wiley is a 6-feet-1-inch tall, 245-pound linebacker at McPherson College, according to the school's Web site.

He played at Tokay High School and at San Joaquin Delta College before getting a scholarship to the four-year private Christian college, where he is studying law. A message left for the school's athletic director, who is also dean of students, was not returned.

Warner scheduled a July 28 court appearance, and tentatively set a preliminary hearing for Aug. 4. He also signed protective orders against the ex-girlfriend, her brother and the 13-month-old boy.

Wiley had been held on $91,000 bail over the weekend in the city jail, based on allegations of charges. Once prosecutors filed felony charges Monday, Warner calculated the total bail at $275,000.

Wiley faces five felony charges: assault likely to cause great bodily injury, a possible strike; first-degree residential burglary of an occupied home, also a possible strike; making criminal threats; and two counts of child abuse and endangerment, relating to the 17-year-old and the 13-month-old.

Contact reporter Layla Bohm at layla@lodinews.com.