Alyn Breed's case 'malicious,' his lawyer says as it heads to grand jury. Where it stands

PROVIDENCE – Friday marked Alyn Breed’s 22nd birthday, but instead of finishing off his final season as a standout guard for Providence College Friars basketball, he is staring down criminal charges.

Charges that his lawyer insists are without merit or evidence, are malicious and perhaps even racially motivated.

“If this wasn’t a Black athlete at Providence College, this case wouldn’t be seeing the light of day,” William J. Lynch, Breed’s lawyer, said last week.

What happened in Alyn Breed's case?

Breed was arrested in April on domestic and firearms charges after an early-morning incident involving his on-and-off girlfriend. The 33-year-old woman, who met Breed on TikTok and followed him from California to Providence, told the police that he broke into her home and brandished a Glock as he demanded her cellphone and ordered her guest to leave. She said he then fled with her phone and car keys.

But within a day, the same woman told police she found her cellphone in the trunk of her guest’s car and that she was under the influence of alcohol at the time of her report and “unsure of elements of her previous statement,” and that some aspects were false. The police never found a gun or the woman's phone in a search of Breed’s dormitory.

Nonetheless, Breed remained held without bail at the Providence police station and then at the Adult Correctional Institutions for three nights based on the woman's allegations that he had robbed her of the phone, according to Lynch, who represents Breed with Maria F. Deaton.

“They knew he did not take and never had her phone," Lynch said. "That’s malicious.”

Breed's case heading to a grand jury

The Journal provided a spokesman for Attorney General Peter F. Neronha’s office with specific questions about the concerns raised by Lynch about the strength of the evidence, the length of time the matter has been pending before going to a grand jury to vet the allegations, and the potential impact it is having on Breed’s college and, perhaps, eventual professional career.

“With regards to the length of time the case has been pending, together with the Providence Police Department, this office has been actively working this case since the defendant’s arrest three months ago in April,” spokesman Brian Hodge said in an email.

“As a matter of practice, the district court will generally not entertain motions to dismiss from the defense until the criminal complaint has been pending for six months. Beyond that, we offer no additional comment,” Hodge continued.

More on Alyn Breed: Providence basketball's Alyn Breed, suspended from team, looks to transfer

A spokeswoman for the Providence Police Department did not provide a response to The Journal’s inquiry by press time Friday.

In Lynch’s view, “there was no due diligence done” by prosecutors and police before announcing Breed’s arrest, news that quickly spread through social media. The Friars suspended Breed indefinitely.

“There was no gun. There was never a gun,” Lynch said.

Now, after lingering since April, the case is about to head to a grand jury on Monday, according to Lynch, who describes the state's handling of it as the most egregious he’s seen in his four decades of experience.

“There’s no evidence," Lynch said. "If they want to engage in malicious prosecution, they can indict him.”

Breed's history with Providence basketball

A Georgia native, Breed chose Providence College over DePaul and Alabama-Birmingham after taking a post-high school sports training year at IMG Academy in Florida in 2019.

Breed, who teammates praised as a tough player capable of taking hard coaching, appeared in all but one of 33 games last season for the Friars. Known for his strong defense, he averaged 4.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and ranked fourth on the team with 25 steals. He scored in double digits four times, including a season-high 14 points in a home victory against St. John’s.

More: Friars Journal: A confident Breed continues to impress

Breed announced shortly before his arrest that he planned to remain with the Friars next season, despite Kim English taking over coaching from Ed Cooley. 

The Journal confirmed last week that he had entered the transfer portal and is expected to leave Providence after three seasons.

What happened that night?

Police reports say Breed and the woman had been dating for about a year. She followed him to Georgia and then to Providence, where she lived just off campus. They had broken up about a week before his arrest.

According to police reports, officers responded at 6:08 a.m. April 1 to Breed's dorm on the PC campus.

The woman told Providence College security and police that Breed had come to her off-campus home at about 9 p.m. to retrieve some belongings and that she brought him back to campus, the report says.

At 4:38 a.m, campus security saw a Dodge Challenger heading toward Breed’s dormitory, its engine revving, before it parked in a fire lane and Breed exited the car with several women. An officer told him to move the car, warning that that behavior was unacceptable. He apologized and complied with the request, a police report says.

The woman told police that around 5 or 5:30 a.m., Breed had returned to her home without permission, entering either through a window or being allowed in by a dog trained to unlock doors, reports said. There, Breed found her in bed with a male guest. The man did not respond to an inquiry Friday from The Journal about the incident. (A police report indicated he had refused to talk to investigators, saying he wanted to speak with a lawyer.)

The woman, whom The Journal is not identifying because she alleges being a victim of domestic violence, told police that Breed then pulled out a gun, ordered the man to leave and demanded her cellphone, the reports said.

She told officers he then fled and got into her Dodge Challenger.

According to Breed’s lawyers, the woman had purchased the car for Breed to use, and he routinely drove it on the Providence College campus.

Shortly before 6 a.m., Breed contacted campus security, warning them of “a female acquaintance that was drunk and acting crazy” whom he feared was heading to his dorm and was an unwanted guest, reports said. Security posted an officer outside the dorm in response.

Officers responded and searched Breed’s dorm based on the woman’s account, but failed to find either a gun or the cellphone, reports said. Breed denied that anything happened between the couple and told investigators, “She thinks I have her phone.”

Breed was placed under arrest and is facing charges of domestic vandalism, breaking and entering and robbery for allegedly taking the cellphone. In addition, Breed is charged with several weapons offenses, including carrying a pistol without a license and using a dangerous weapon while committing a crime of violence for allegedly demanding the phone while holding a gun.

Woman allegedly threatened with arrest, tried to lift no-contact order

According to police reports and affidavits, the woman contacted investigators the next morning to say she had been under the influence of alcohol and “unsure of elements of her statement.” She told them that some of her statements were false, a report says.

Stefanie Murphy, the woman’s lawyer, said that the woman was then told that she could face arrest, prompting her to retain Murphy's services. Murphy is advising the woman to invoke her Fifth Amendment right to protection from self-incrimination if she is called before a grand jury.

The woman’s changing statements played out in state District Court, where then-Magistrate J. Patrick O’Neill initially ordered Breed held without bail at the urging of prosecutor Meghan E. McDonough.

O’Neill reconsidered a day later, after the woman appeared before him in court with Murphy.

Murphy denies characterizations of her client as uncooperative, stating that she believes the police misinterpreted her initial report and she was trying to fill in the gaps.

O'Neill agreed to release Breed on $25,000 bail with surety, meaning Breed posted $2,500 and remains under court oversight. O’Neill noted that the bail terms were 50% less than what McDonough requested. He ordered Breed not to contact the woman.

Breed returned to Georgia. In May, O’Neill denied a motion by the woman to lift the no-contact order, court records show.

Breed trying to transfer from Providence, but charges may dash his prospects

Breed had wanted to continue at Providence, Lynch said, before deciding to transfer. His delight in his team and its long-standing rivalry with the University of Rhode Island is apparent on social media.

“Love friartown,” he tweeted March 20.

Now, Breed is opting to try to make a clean start at another school.

“Alyn and his family, in light of these false charges, doesn’t feel safe or satisfied with how he’s been treated in Rhode Island,” Lynch said.

But Breed’s prospects remain unclear with the criminal case “hanging” over him and so little time left for him to land at another school, Lynch says,

“Delaying from April to July is effectively punishing this young man, which is unAmerican,” said Lynch, who described Breed as a model student-athlete and perfect gentlemen.

“He wanted to stay before this. This is the ultimate fishing expedition that has the effect of ruining this kid’s college career and maybe his life,” Lynch said.

Lynch said he is perplexed by the state's handling of the case. “They have gone after everything they can find as if they were going after a mass shooter,” he said.

He wonders about an impression in the state’s Black community that race is in play.

“On the heels of that South County case, people are asking what’s going on in this department. I have to start wondering myself,” Lynch said.

He was referring to a 2021 case in which the state ultimately dismissed charges against three young Black men accused of sexually assaulting an incapacitated woman and recording the encounter during a night of partying in South Kingstown. The case sparked Black Lives Matter protests and divided the community after the men were held without bail for 50 days until a judge released them, citing insufficiently credible and reliable evidence.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Where does Alyn Breed's case stand? Lawyer says charges 'malicious'