Ravens running back Ray Rice has been indicted on a third-degree aggravated assault charge by a grand jury after a February incident with his then-fiancee and current wife Janay Palmer at an Atlantic City casino and an arraignment has been set in the case.
FOX45 in Baltimore reports that the arraignment will be held on April 28. Rice will receive formal notification of the charges, which can carry a 3-5 year jail sentence if he’s convicted, and enter a plea at that time.
The league has yet to weigh in with any discipline for the back, but the Ravens have offered plenty of supportive words for Rice since his arrest and coach John Harbaugh added more of them on Tuesday.
“Ray’s situation will be addressed,” Harbaugh said, via the team’s website. “There’s a timeline, and consequences for actions. I really respect what Ray is doing since and how he’s handled it and the steps he has been taking. When you learn what those steps are, you’re going to be proud of him, too. Nobody is perfect. Nobody sitting in this room is perfect. There are plenty of people out there with stones in their hands. Plenty of stones have already been tossed.”
Wide receiver Deonte Thompson and offensive lineman Jah Reid have also been arrested since the end of the 2013 season and Harbaugh said that the team is “ticked off” about the off-field problems. The coach also said that they’ve reinforced the need to be better citizens on their players in the wake of the arrests, quoting Abraham Lincoln in saying that they want players proud