Martise Washington, one of five young men arrested May 12 in an alleged sex video scandal, appeared in court Tuesday morning.

Handcuffed and in a jail-issued jumpsuit, the Niles High School student stood before Judge Scott Schofield to state his wish to proceed to a preliminary examination.

That hearing has been scheduled for June 8 in St. Joseph.

Schofield and prosecutor Steve Pierangeli clarified the delay was, in part, “the most efficient use of judicial time,” as well as a matter of a couple of attorney scheduling conflicts.

Washington, Trey Nichols, Martell Miller, Leon Murphy and Parnell Martin each have retained separate representation. Each are facing multiple charges including criminal sexual conduct in the 1st degree and extortion.

All are expected to appear in court June 8 and the preliminary examinations will be held at one time.

Nichols, Murphy and Martin are expected in court in Niles on Friday to officially waive the 14-day hearing.

The charges stem from alleged incidents dating back to March 18 and as far back as January of this year for Nichols.

Though the allegations are that each of the defendants were involved in some way in the taping and extortion of the alleged victim having sex with Washington, attorney Lanny Fisher, who is representing Martin, said for each to secure his own representation “is the norm.”

“In a case like this, where multiple kids have been charged, it would be impossible for one attorney to represent two separate individuals to the best of his ability,” Fisher said. “It’s to avoid a conflict of interest.”

Though he declined to comment on how his client, who has remained in custody since his arrest, has been doing, Fisher did say Martin’s mother and sister have been visiting him on a regular basis.

Since the arrests took place almost two weeks ago, many questions remain of how five young men, four of them students at NHS and some on the verge of graduation, wound up facing the possibility of life in prison.

No pleas have been entered in the case, which means the matter could possibly go to trial.

More is expected to be learned during the preliminary examinations June 8.

Washington was on the right track

It was just one year ago that Washington talked about his plans for the future in an interview with the Star.

A sophomore at the time, Washington started attending Niles High School in September 2009, just one day after leaving the Berrien County Juvenile Center. It was the second time he’d been in juvenile detention.

Prior to coming to Niles, Washington had been living with his grandmother in Benton Harbor in 2008 and said he’d begun hanging around the wrong crowd, which got him into trouble. He got into drugs and time and time again, Washington said, his behavior would improve only to break back down.

His move to Niles, living in foster care, seemed to be a turning point for Washington.

In an interview about Washington last year, NHS Principal Jim Knoll said he’d adapted to the culture of NHS as well. Former teacher Ryan Bigelow said he’d evolved and students were looking up to him.

“It’s out of Martise being a genuinely nice guy,” he said.

Last year, Washington had clear visions of his future. After all he’d overcome, he said his hopes were to go to college and become a case manager and youth specialist to help others who may be going through what he did.

“I want to be able to help kids to stay away from stuff like that, to be good in the community,” he said.

Now, amidst severe allegations, Washington’s fate, along with that of Nichols, Miller, Murphy and Martin, remains uncertain yet bound for the courtroom.

Read the full interview with Washington online at www.nilesstar.com/2010/05/25/waiting-on-a-second-chance.