Two Kutztown players face trial in assault

ALLENTOWN - Prosecutors have enough evidence for two Kutztown University football players to stand trial on charges of breaking a man's jaw, Fleetwood District Judge Gail Greth ruled Tuesday.

Leroy Azubuike, 22, and Tyler Lepley, 20, were suspended from school and charged with aggravated assault and related offenses last month. Police said the two punched a man off-campus early Oct. 19 after Azubuike allegedly groped the man's girlfriend. The confrontation occurred just six weeks after the fatal beating of a university student walking on a Kutztown street.

The players went through the university's version of judicial proceedings, and Azubuike's lawyer provided a letter from the university stating that they had been judged "not responsible" for the assault and other infractions. The school lifted the suspensions, and Azubuike and Lepley will be allowed to make up schoolwork.

Mike Boland, Azubuike's lawyer, said witnesses had testified to "a completely different version of what happened" from what authorities alleged.

University spokesman Josh Leiboff declined to comment, citing school privacy rules.