Court records show the three Eastern Michigan University football players charged with assault are accused of beating the cousin of the man who shot and killed Demarius Reed last year.

Records at the 14A-2 District Court in Ypsilanti list Demarko Taylor, 24 of Ypsilanti, as the victim in the assault. In January, Taylor testified at a preliminary exam against Ed Thomas and Kristopher Pratt, the two men charged in the case.

Pratt, Taylor's cousin, took a plea deal to plead guilty to second-degree murder and will serve between 18 and 30 years in prison. Thomas was acquitted during his jury trial.

Darius Scott, Quincy Jones and Jairockeis Jones are all charged with a single count of misdemeanor aggravated assault. The charges stem from an incident at 12:49 p.m. Aug. 29 at Huron River Drive and LeForge Road.

From left: Quincy Jones, Darius Scott, Jay Jones

No weapons were used in the assault, police said. Taylor suffered a broken facial bone and stitches. He was taken to a local hospital and was in stable condition after the assault, police said.

On Thursday, Taylor described the incident in a phone interview with the The Ann Arbor News. He said he was walking back home after a trip to the store Kampus Korner, 819 Huron River Drive, and he saw the trio drive by him.

He said he was with two friends and told them, “Watch, they’re going to turn around and jump me.” Not long after, he said the Dodge sedan the three players were in turned back around. Taylor said he tried to talk to them, saying he had nothing to do with Reed’s murder, but the players didn’t listen.

“They’re not trying to hear it,” he said. “They want revenge or something.”

Taylor said one person charged him and took a swing at him. He swung back and then they all charged him and he couldnt defend himself.

Taylor testified in January that he lived in the University Green apartments, the same place where Reed lived and died. He testified he spoke to Reed on Oct. 17, hours before Pratt shot and killed Reed during a robbery.

Taylor was with a group, including Pratt and Thomas, in the early morning hours of Oct. 18. He said he left the party they were at and went home about 3 a.m. Pratt and Thomas went back to the party without him and eventually returned to his apartment later.

He said Thursday he didn’t know anything about Reed’s death until later.

“They think I have something to do with it, and I do not,” he said.

Taylor said a man got the license plate number of the car the players were in and took Taylor to the EMU Police Department. He was taken to the hospital and said he fell unconscious, waking up the next day.

It’s not the first time Taylor’s been confronted by EMU players about Reed’s death. He said he avoided a previous confrontation at the EMU Fitness Center earlier this year.

Taylor testified at the January preliminary exam but never testified at the trial for Thomas in July. Thomas was found not guilty on all counts after a trial that lasted about one week.

The EMU football players were all arrested after the daytime assault and were charged on Sunday. They’re out of jail on 10 percent of $5,000 bonds, records show.

All three are scheduled to return to court for a pretrial hearing at 1 p.m. Sept. 8.

Scott was a friend of Reed’s dating at least back to their time in high school. They both attended Simeon Academy in Chicago, and Scott attended the January preliminary exam when Taylor testified.

Quincy Jones and Jairockeis Jones both play wide receiver, the same position as Reed. Quincy Jones was a year younger than Reed and Jairockeis Jones would have been in the same graduating class, although he is listed as a redshirt junior this year for football purposes.

On Wednesday, EMU Assistant Athletic Director Greg Steiner said the three players are still a part of the team. None of them played in Saturday’s game against Morgan State University and are not listed on the depth chart for the upcoming game against the University of Florida.

“We’re aware of the situation involving the student athletes,” Steiner told The Ann Arbor News. “Right now, we’re following standard Eastern Michigan University policy regarding any disciplinary actions.”

Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for The Ann Arbor News. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@mlive.com or you can follow him on Twitter. Find all Washtenaw County crime stories here.