Defendant offers to plead no contest; another ordered to stand trial

IONIA, MICHIGAN - A prosecutor said one of two men accused of a making a racially motivated attack against former Michigan State running back T.J. Duckett has offered to plead no contest to two charges. <br> <br> The second defendant was ordered to stand trial in Ionia County Circuit Court following his preliminary examination Tuesday in District Court. <br> <br> Twenty-one-year-old Robert James Pung of Saranac, Michigan, waived his right to a preliminary examination and is scheduled to appear September third in District Court. <br> <br> Prosecutor Gail Benda said Pung has offered to plead no contest to charges of ethnic intimidation, a felony, and misdemeanor assault and battery at the hearing. <br> <br> She said the judge will decide whether to accept the no-contest plea, which is treated the same as a guilty plea for sentencing purposes. <br> <br> The intimidation charge carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison and a five-thousand dollar fine. The assault charge is punishable by up to 93 days in jail and a $500 fine. <br> <br> The Grand Rapids Press reported that the other defendant, 23-year-old Harold Jason Bodman of Ionia was ordered to stand trial on charges of ethnic intimidation and felonious assault. <br> <br> If convicted, Bodman could face four years in prison on the assault charge, plus two years on the intimidation count. <br> <br> Bodman&#39;s attorney, Bruce Lincoln, said the case against his client was flimsy and politically motivated. <br> <br> Duckett, now a rookie with the Atlanta Falcons, said during 30 minutes of testimony that the defendants used racial slurs against him, pushed him and threatened to toss him from a bridge.