PBy Seth Woehrle and K.C. Howard

rosecutors expect to file charges today against three men being held in the shooting death of football player Brandon Hall, as details surrounding the homicide continue to emerge.

At a news conference on Wednesday, police contested news reports that there were multiple violent confrontations between football players and the three suspects leading up to the shooting.

Police spokeswoman Cyndi Barrington also said that Hall and other football players were not downtown that evening, but arrived from campus dormitories and other residences after learning that their teammate, Damian Haye, had been severely beaten and robbed.

When asked whether Hall, who was 19, had been drinking, Barrington said that toxicology reports haven’t yet been completed.

Police investigator Rob Allen said the football players arrived to take Haye home. Haye declined medical treatment and decided against filing a report with police, Allen said.

Allen said that later, the group of players came into contact with the three suspects and exchanged words, but the groups were broken apart when police used a chemical irritant.

He said the players then decided to go back to their parked cars and go home, but they had inadvertently parked next to the suspects’ van.

Allen said that one of the players recognized the three, and one of the suspects retrieved a firearm from the van.

The players scattered, but Hall stopped and turned back toward the suspects and was then shot, according to Allen. Officers were still in the area when the shots were fired. Police were performing CPR on Hall 30 seconds after the shooting, and had apprehended the three suspects a minute and a half later, Allen said.

“There were 20-some police officers in that area, and if someone had problems then they should have turned those over to the police,” Allen said in an interview. “That’s what created this incident.”

Police said they believe Jermaine Stansberry, 28, is the sole shooter, but Raymond Hardimon Jr., 23, and Lee Earl Cain, Jr., 30, could face assault charges.

Charges were delayed after a key witness surfaced late Tuesday night, said an official from the Hennepin County District Attorney’s office.

Representatives for the district attorney and Minneapolis Police Department would not comment on who the witness was or what information that person provided.

Cain Jr., a University Facilities Management employee for the past 10 months, has called his parents every day and maintained his innocence since the arrest, said his father, Lee Earl Cain Sr.

Though Cain has a criminal history involving drugs and fraud, his father said his son had changed his ways and did nothing wrong Sunday morning.

Tonight, the University will hold a memorial service for Hall at Williams Arena.

Seth Woehrle comments at [email protected]

KC Howard welcomes comments at [email protected]