New Orleans Saints rookie defensive end Carl Granderson was released from a Wyoming jail in a modified sentencing on Monday. The Casper-Star-Tribune and Laramie Boomerang reported that Sixth Judicial District Judge John Perry suspended Granderson’s six-month jail sentence and gave him a year of supervised probation instead.
Granderson had served 43 days in the Albany County Detention Center following an initial sentencing from Second Judicial District Court Judge Tori Kricken, who rejected a plea deal arranged between the state of Wyoming and Granderson’s lawyers.
Granderson was originally charged with two misdemeanors: one count of unlawful contact and one count of sexual battery. The charges stemmed from allegations made earlier this year that he had assaulted two women at his off-campus apartment, days after the University of Wyoming’s final game.
After he was not selected in the 2019 NFL Draft, the Saints signed Granderson as an undrafted free agent, and he practiced with them during minicamp earlier this summer. They also gave him the highest signing bonus of any of their rookie free agents this year. However, he was placed on the “reserve/did not report” list before training camp started, which followed his sentencing.
Perry’s modified sentencing allowed for Granderson’s supervised visitation to transfer to another state, which opens the door for him to join the Saints. But other steps must be taken first if that’s the team’s course of action, not the least of which is approval from the Louisiana Department of Justice. Granderson must also pay court-ordered fees and other financial obligations.
The new sentencing was made once the case was transferred to Perry from Kricken; Granderson’s attorney noted that Kricken spoke with a court-ordered therapist before the initial sentencing hearing, which Perry agreed suggested “the appearance of impropriety.”
Perry also wrote: “To be clear, based on the information currently before the court, the ex parte communication was in no way damaging to defendant. However, that fact simply does not matter. Ex parte communications of this nature are improper regardless — and even moreso when instituted by the sitting judge. In any analysis employed, there is simply no other just conclusion.”
This is a developing story. Check back here at Saints Wire for updates.
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