Two people have been arrested and thirteen people total will face charges in the death of Florida A&M University drum major Robert Champion.
The Leon County Sheriff's Office said 24-year-old Caleb Jackson and 23-year-old Rikki Wills were booked into jail at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Earlier that same day, State Attorney Lawson Lamar announced the charges, after five months of investigations, at a press conference.
Lamar said 11 were charged with hazing resulting in death, which are third-degree felonies. The maximum penalty is six years for those without a prior criminal record. Two others were charged with first-degree misdemeanor hazing.
Orlando Regional Operations Center Special Agent in Charge Joyce Dawley said of the 11 charged with felony hazing, one is in custody and one is out-of-state.
More than 20 counts of misdemeanor hazing were also filed, and involve different victims who were not seriously injured.
The state attorney said they will not name those being charged as they are still at-large.
But for the two already in custody, one of them was already on probation.
For Jackson, this is his fourth arrest since 2009 and, according to records, he was serving probation for a felony battery charge.
Wills is being held on $15,000 bond. Both are charged with felony hazing resulting in death, a charge that carries a six year maximum sentence.
During the news conference, he also urged those who have any facts about this homicide to come forward, especially those who were not charged.
Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said they interviewed 48 people during their investigation.
Champion, 26, died Nov. 19 after he was beaten while on a charter bus after the Florida Classic football game in Orlando.
His death has brought attention to other hazing incidents at the university.
Some have called it a "hazing epidemic."
Reacting to the news Wednesday, Champion's mother Pam Champion said she was disappointed that more serious charges were not filed. Pam Champion told The Associated Press that she was happy charges were finally brought, but she wishes more serious charges were filed to send a harsher message against hazing.
An attorney for the family has already filed a lawsuit against the charter bus company and the bus driver. He said his investigation has revealed the driver of the bus was what he called an "active participant" in Champion's death.
FAMU School Investigation
The band's longtime director, Julian White, has been on paid leave since the incident.
Meanwhile, two music teachers have resigned after learning they would be fired.
The faculty union’s president confirms Diron Holloway and Anthony Simons were let go after students told police the professors were present during a 2010 hazing incident at one of the professor's homes in Tallahassee.
Although charges were announced, the case is far from over.
FAMU created a committee of national experts to look at the hazing issue.
They're planning a two-day meeting sometime in the next few weeks to start talking about policy changes they want to have in place by the start of next school year.
An attorney for the family of Robert Champion said the family does intend to file a lawsuit against the university.
FAMU band director Dr. Julian White issued this statement Wednesday regarding the charges, through his lawyer Chuck Hobbs:
"Dr. White continues to pray for the family of Robert Champion and hopes that that the arrests that were announced today will help them to learn more about what happened on the night their son was killed last November and in some small way, provide some sense of relief from the anguish that they have experienced since that time."
"Now that arrests have been made and the criminal investigation into the hazing that led to Robert Champion's death has been concluded, it is our position that President Ammons and/or the Board of Trustees should finally consider our petition to have Dr. White fully reinstated as Director of Bands and Chair of the Music Department at Florida A&M University. We maintain that the evidence we provided following Dr. White's initial termination for alleged incompetence in reporting hazing- is clearly unfounded by the record evidence. Most of the decisive actions that the university has taken since Robert Champion's tragic death were largely based on Dr. White's reporting both known and alleged incidents of hazing.”
“Dr. White worked tirelessly to root out hazing in all forms over the past 22 years as director of bands, and any so-called rituals, including Bus C, were expressly forbidden. Dr. White remains disappointed that barely 48 hours after meeting with band members that Robert Champion was killed in an extreme, horrific and illegal act of bullying. Dr. White applauds law enforcement for taking the deliberate steps necessary to bring this case to justice, and is relieved that those responsible for Robert’s death will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.