USC Coach Pete Carroll reiterated Wednesday he would take a wait-and-see approach regarding Shareece Wright's status in wake of the starting cornerback's legal problems.
Wright entered a not-guilty plea through his attorney Wednesday to one felony count of resisting a police officer during a party he attended in his hometown of Colton over Labor Day weekend.
Wright, 21, was released from custody without posting $15,000 in bail as was required from each of his three co-defendants, and San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge John N. Martin scheduled the four men to return for a settlement conference Oct. 29.
Martin, noting two-year-old court records showing Wright had a failure to appear on his record for a traffic violation, told Wright he would "slap you in jail so fast it'll make your head spin" if he failed to appear for the next hearing.
Wright's attorney, Carlos L. Juarez, said he would work to gather witness statements that he hoped would convince the San Bernardino County district attorney to drop the count that exposes Wright to a maximum three-year prison sentence if he were to be convicted.
"He's real concerned and worried it'll disrupt what he's doing, but I've assured him everything will be OK," Juarez said of Wright.
Wright attended practice but did not work out for the second consecutive day because of a pinched nerve. He declined to speak with reporters about his situation. USC has an open date this week and plays at Oregon State on Thursday.
Asked if he would make a determination about Wright's status this week, Carroll said, "I'm not worried about the time frames here. I just need really good information and we'll see what it all means."
Juarez said Wright had returned to Colton for a goodbye party for his friend Luis Alvarado, who, according to a mutual friend, was deployed by the Marines to Iraq on Wednesday. Neighbors had complained to Colton police about the party being loud, Juarez said, and officers arrived with a police dog, ultimately using a Taser on at least one of the partygoers.
Although three individuals were arrested at the scene for resisting a police officer, Wright wasn't, but he was ultimately briefly detained by Colton police last week and was charged by the district attorney.
