Charges of simple assault and public intoxication against Iowa State basketball player Travis Spivey were dropped last Wednesday, according to his attorney John Martens.

Spivey, sophomore in general undergraduate studies, allegedly assaulted an employee of Hardee’s Restaurant, 309 S. Duff Ave., in the early morning hours of Dec. 24. Spivey also failed sobriety tests following his arrest.

“The city attorney’s office dropped the charge of assault and dropped the charge of public intoxication,” Martens said. “The charges were dropped because their evidence did not show the culpability of their charges.”

However, Spivey did enter a plea of trespassing, was granted a deferred judgment and the case will be dismissed in six months.

Martens said the events that resulted in Spivey’s arrest and original charges were caused by a misunderstanding.

Ames Police officer John Nordyke said in a previous interview with the Daily that he walked into Hardee’s on Dec. 24 in time to see Spivey swing at and strike the clerk behind the counter.

No blood resulted from the punch and no medical attention was required, so the charges were labeled as simple assault, he said.

However, Martens said, “The case … was really blown out of proportion as to what happened.”

Martens maintained that Spivey “hardly touched” the Hardee’s clerk and that Nordyke arrested his client, “ignorant of the context of the situation.”

Though Spivey will not face simple assault and public intoxication charges, Martens said Spivey will be punished for the trespassing charge.

“As far as the punishment is concerned, he’ll be doing 10 hours of community service, and he’ll be on informal probation with the Center for Creative Justice for six months,” he said.

Tom Kroeschell, director of media relations for the Athletic Department, said he had no further comment on the case at this time.

Kroeschell said he had no information on whether Spivey will continue to play with the team.

“That is a decision that will be made at a future time by [men’s basketball] coach [Larry] Eustachy,” Kroeschell said. “[Spivey’s] current status is a day-to-day issue.”

Martens said he was pleased with the outcome of the case.

“This is a good resolution for Travis,” he said. “Travis is a student in good standing at the university.”

Eustachy could not be reached for comment.