Former UW football player reaches deal in charge

LARAMIE — Carl Granderson has struck a deal with prosecutors in a criminal case, the former Wyoming football player indicated in court documents filed just days before he was set to go to trial.

According to the documents, filed Wednesday in Albany County District Court, Granderson has reached a plea agreement with prosecutors. The New Orleans Saints signee requested a hearing where he can change his pleas and be sentenced. He will ask a judge to cancel the jury trial that was scheduled to begin Monday.

The change-of-plea and sentencing proceedings are scheduled for 9 a.m. Thursday, a court clerk said.

Granderson in April pleaded not guilty to one count of third-degree sexual assault and one count of sexual battery, but according to a notice of intent to change plea filed on his behalf by his attorney, Megan Overmann Goetz, Granderson intends to change that “in accordance with the terms” of the agreement, which are not disclosed in court filings.

A concurrent filing, however, indicates Granderson will not be convicted of a felony. Prosecutors on Wednesday submitted a modification of the charging document associated with the case, in which they replaced the sexual assault charge with one count of unlawful contact. The two remaining charges are misdemeanors, and convictions on those counts are punishable by a maximum of one year and six months incarceration, respectively.

The documents do not specify which of a number of possible pleas Granderson will enter to the modified charges. And if he has reached an agreement with prosecutors regarding sentencing recommendations, those details are not included in the documents.

According to amended information in the case filed Wednesday by prosecuting attorney Becky Farley, Granderson allegedly committed sexual battery and unlawful touching when two women, identified only as A.A. and D.H. in court filings, stayed at his off-campus apartment on the night of Nov. 25 and into the early hours of Nov. 26.

Granderson is accused of subjecting A.A. to sexual contact by touching her breasts while clothed and touching D.H.’s clothed buttocks “in a rude manner without intentionally using physical force to cause her injury,” according to court documents.

Widely thought of as Wyoming’s top draft prospect before the original charges were filed against him in February, Granderson went undrafted before signing a free-agent contract in April with the Saints. Granderson, a two-time all-Mountain West selection, reportedly signed for $85,000 — the largest amount of any of the Saints’ undrafted free agents.