UPDATE: Another Rutgers football player arrested in home invasion robbery
NEW BRUNSWICK - An attorney for dismissed Rutgers University football player Andre Boggs is claiming the alleged victims in three home invasions have good reason to lie to police - they are all drug dealers who should have been arrested.
"My client rots in jail based on the allegations of drug dealers," said James Donohue, a former prosecutor who is defending Boggs.
"The alleged victims are drug dealers," he said. "There has been no arrest of them. My client stands by the fact that he's not guilty."
Donohue made the statements in an effort to lower Boggs' $600,000 bail during an arraignment Wednesday in Middlesex County Superior Court in New Brunswick.
In addition to the victims, prosecutors say some of Boggs' codefendants in the case made statements that led to his arrest.
"If a codefendant is facing a significant amount of jail time, they'll say anything to get out from under it just like drug dealers will," Donohue said.
PREVIOUSLY: Fingerprint, text messages link Rutgers football players to home invasions, prosecutor says
Boggs, 20, and Tejay Johnson, 23, are charged with armed robbery in the months-long spree. Suspended student Jianan Chen, 19, of New Brunswick, is also charged with armed robbery for allegedly helping Boggs and Johnson find people they could rob, prosecutors allege.
Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Kuberiet called the crimes, which date back to April, "brutal, violent and aggressive."
The suspects are accused of breaking into homes with weapons ranging from guns to a hammer; they demanded cash and drugs in each robbery, the prosecutor said. When Chen was arrested, he was in possession of $35,000 cash and 92 grams of marijuana, Kuberiet said.
"These (victims) were targeted for specific reasons - because the defendants didn't think they were going to report it," Kuberiet said in court. "There was a plan and a conspiracy and they went out to execute that plan and conspiracy."
"People should be sacrosanct in their own homes," Kuberiet said.
Judge Dennis Nieves refused to lower bail amounts for any of the defendants, citing "the seriousness of the crime and the likelihood of conviction."
Along with Boggs, Johnson and Chen, two others have been charged in the robberies. Dylan Mastriana, a Rutgers student, is accused of helping them plan the crimes, and Kaylanna Ricks, 20, of Perth Amboy, allegedly drove the getaway car.
In a separate case, Johnson and several former and current Rutgers University football players were charged with aggravated assault in a fight on Delafield Street that left one victim with a broken jaw.
PLUS: Rutgers to install more surveillance cameras following arrests
The final suspect in the assault case turned himself in Wednesday morning, his lawyer said. Daryl Stephenson, a former Rutgers student and football player, was in Florida when the charges were filed last week, according to his lawyer, William Fetky.
The university placed seven students on interim suspension, and five current football players were kicked off the team after the charges were announced.
A spokesman for Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey did not respond to a request for comment on this story.
Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.