IRON MOUNTAIN — Six adult suspects accused of an assault in Norway Township on April 1 pleaded not guilty at their separate arraignments in 95B District Court on Wednesday.

Payton Thompson, Adam Loomis, Zachary Pellegrini and John Zanon were arraigned on charges of aggravated assault and using a mask in the commission of a crime against the victim, Trenton McWilliams.

Regan Passamani and Katherine Puma were arraigned on an aggravated assault charge.

One other person allegedly involved is a juvenile and therefore that name was not released.

A 95B District Court representative said ages and places of residence are now protected information under a new law, so that information was not released.

According to Michigan Legislative Code 750.81, aggravated assault is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of not more than $1,000.

Section 750.81a.1 of the MCL states, “a person who assaults an individual without a weapon and inflicts serious or aggravated injury upon that individual without intending to commit murder or to inflict great bodily harm less than murder …”

MCL 750.396 states that “a person who intentionally conceals his or her identity by wearing a mask or other device covering his or her face for the purpose of facilitating the commission of a crime” is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by no more than 93 days in jail or a fine of not more than $500, or both.

Thompson, Loomis, Passamani and Puma have a trial set for Sept. 30, beginning at 9 a.m. The trial for Pellegrini and Zanon was set for Oct. 7, beginning at 9 a.m, because of scheduling conflicts with their attorneys.

One bond condition for all the defendants is to have no contact with McWilliams. But during the first arraignment Wednesday, of Thompson, Dickinson County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Carl Downing asked for a bond amendment to include the stipulation that none of the co-defendants be able to communicate with each other.

Thompson’s attorney, Henry McRoberts, argued that no such amendment was needed because the individuals are already ordered to avoid contact and communication with the victim.

District Court Judge Julie A. LaCost ruled against the bond amendment request — though she later said she tended to agree with the idea — because no direct evidence of any such group intimidation had been presented yet.

She also issued a stark warning to all the defendants that any attempts to intimidate McWilliams will lead to more serious charges, including felony charges. LaCost added that any bond violation would not be tolerated and would likely lead to incarceration in the county jail until the trials begin.

LaCost did allow some exceptions to out-of-state travel restrictions, mostly for work and family purposes.

In addition to McRoberts, defense attorneys on Wednesday included Greg Seibold for Loomis, Caleb Tarsi for Passamani and Dennis Tousignant for Puma. Attorneys Andrea Mashak and Robert Pirkola represented Pellegrini and Zanon, respectively.

The next step in the cases will be pre-trial conferences by mail.