Mazi Smith’s Attorney Provides Key Details In Weapons Charge

After news broke that Michigan defensive lineman Mazi Smith was facing a felony weapons charge, speculation about the details spread like wildfire over social media channels. During Thursday’s arraignment, Attorney John Shea – who is representing Smith in this case – provided some critical details surrounding the incident. 

“This is Mr. Smith’s first contact with the law,” Shea said. “This incident arose out of a traffic stop at around 9 o’clock in the morning — maybe I’m a little off on the exact time, but it was in the morning on a Friday.

“He was asked whether there was a weapon in the car. He was honest. He was forthright. He was completely cooperative. Ironically, he was in the midst of obtaining his CPL. He had not yet completely obtained it. He does have it now, which is even more ironic. But he was in the process, and I say that not to try to convey anything other than he was trying to be responsible, and he completed that process.

“We will address at a later date the issues regarding criminal liability. He’s a lifelong Michigan resident, as the warrant recall application that I submitted yesterday says. He’s a full-time student at the University of Michigan. … Active family involvement. He’s a good young man.”

With Michigan heading to Indy for the Big Ten Championship game, Shea asked that Smith be allowed to travel with the team for football related activities. Washtenaw County Magistrate Elisha Fink granted that request.

“What that means, Mr. Smith, is that if your team is traveling, you can go with them,” Fink said. “You can go anywhere that that team is going for any reason related to your participation on that team. But other than that, I’m not giving you permission to go outside of the state of Michigan. So you can’t take yourself someplace to watch some other team play. You can go if your team is going, but not by yourself. You can’t go to Cedar Point. You can’t go to Kentucky, OK?”