Five Cal Poly athletes are officially charged and appear in court 

On Aug. 22, the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office formally charged five Cal Poly student-athletes with a variety of felonies related to their alleged involvement in what police say was an attempted armed robbery at a fraternity house on Aug. 10.

Cameron Akins, Cortland Fort, Kristaan Ivory, Jake Brito, and Dominique Love were all charged with multiple felony counts of robbery, burglary, and false imprisonment by violence. In addition, Akins was charged with three felony counts of resisting arrest.

In a criminal complaint filed on Aug. 22, authorities describe Akins wearing a “black hoodie” and a “mask-like cover over his face,” wielding a .38 caliber Derringer handgun, and demanding “money and drugs” from multiple residents of the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity house on California Boulevard early in the morning on Aug. 10.

Additionally, authorities alleged that Fort was discovered on Aug. 10 in a rented Kia Optima with the lights off in a nearby parking lot. In the rental car, authorities say they discovered Ivory’s wallet and cell phone, as well as the wallets of Akins and Brito.

In an Aug. 22 press release, Chief Deputy District Attorney Jerret Gran said that “we have absolutely no tolerance for violent gun crimes.”

Gran did not respond to a request for further comment from New Times as of press time.

All five defendants appeared in court as scheduled on Aug. 25, but didn’t enter pleas, as their arraignment was postponed until Sept. 15.

Cal Poly spokesman Matt Lazier told New Times that all five students remain suspended indefinitely from the football team, and added that student privacy law prevents him from discussing any possible student conduct investigation involving specific students.

Following the initial Aug. 25 court appearance, Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong also released a statement about the ongoing investigation.

“Cal Poly continues to work cooperatively both with police as the investigation into the Aug. 10 robbery continues and with prosecutors as the charges connected to this incident are adjudicated,” Armstrong said. “We remain committed to commissioning our own independent investigation once the criminal probe into the Aug. 10 incident ends.

“I want to reiterate that Cal Poly absolutely will not tolerate illegal drug use and violent, criminal behavior,” he added. “They run counter to the Mustang Way and the character and integrity we expect of all members of our campus community.”