SALISBURY, Md. - Prosecutors have dropped hate crime and felony assault charges against multiple Salisbury University students involved in an off-campus ambush assault.
The Oct. 15 incident reportedly began when one student, identified by police as Zachary Leinemann, pretended to be a 16-year-old on a dating app to lure an adult victim to an off-campus apartment under false pretenses. When the victim arrived, a group of students—affiliated with a Salisbury University fraternity—allegedly ambushed and assaulted the man. The victim later told police he believed the attack was motivated by his sexuality, say court documents.
Initially, 15 students were charged, all facing felony assault and hate crime offenses. They were expelled from their fraternity and suspended from the university. However, prosecutors have since reduced the charges for 11 of the students to two misdemeanors: second-degree assault and false imprisonment or conspiracy to commit false imprisonment.
The first student to have hate crime allegations withdrawn was Cruz Cespedes on Dec. 4. The following day, 10 additional students had similar reductions in charges.
Court documents state two students, Riley Brister, 20, and Logan Clark, still face felony first-degree assault charges. Their next court appearances are scheduled for Dec. 6 and Dec.12, respectively.
Meanwhile, Leinemann, 18, and Elijah Johnson, 19, face three charges each in Wicomico County Circuit Court, including a misdemeanor hate crime offense. Their initial court appearances are set for Jan. 3, 2025.
The full list of accused students and upcoming court dates include:
Wicomico County District Court
- Bennan Aird: Trial Jan. 29, 2025
- Dylan Earp: Trial Jan. 29, 2025
- Ryder Baker: Trial Jan. 29, 2025
- Cameron Guy: Trial Jan. 29, 2025
- Jacob Howard: Trial Jan. 29, 2025
- Eric Sinclair: Trial Jan. 29, 2025
- Patrick Gutierrez: Trial Jan. 29, 2025
- Dylan Pietuszka: Trial Jan. 24, 2025
- Benjamin Brandenburg: Trial Jan. 29, 2025
- Sean Antone: Trial Jan. 29, 2025
- Riley Brister: Trial Dec. 6
- Logan Clark: Trial Dec. 12
Wicomico County Circuit Court
- Zachary Leinemann: Initial appearance Jan. 3, 2025
- Elijah Johnson: Initial appearance Jan. 3, 2025