The felony assault charges filed against N.C. State basketball sophomore guard Markell Johnson last month in a Cleveland, Ohio court were dropped Thursday, clearing the way for his suspension to end.

N.C. State spokesman Fred Demarest, in a statement, said the dismissal of the charges means Johnson is eligible to return to the team under the school’s Student-Athlete Code of Conduct. N.C. State coach Kevin Keatts has final say as to when Johnson will return to practice or play in a game for the Wolfpack.

Johnson, 19, was traveling from Cleveland to Raleigh on Thursday and was unavailable for comment. He is not expected to play for N.C. State when the Wolfpack faces No. 19 Clemson on Thursday at 9 p.m. at PNC Arena.

N.C. State’s starting point guard for its first 10 games this season, Johnson was suspended Dec. 14 after he was indicted on the assault charges. He has missed six games, including N.C. State’s first three ACC games. He hasn’t played since N.C. State’s 88-69 win over UMKC on Dec. 9.

Court documents from Cuyahoga County (Ohio) show James S. Gallagher, an assistant prosecuting attorney, signed the state’s motion to dismiss document Thursday. Shelly Ann Roth, a paralegal at the office of John Paris, Johnson’s attorney, said Thursday the charges had been dropped.

After Thursday’s game with Clemson, the Wolfpack plays at No. 3 Virginia at 6 p.m. Sunday.

Johnson, 19, and three co-defendants were indicted Dec. 5 on assault charges stemming from an Oct. 8 incident in Cleveland. Johnson, Demarious Green, Michael Melton and Johnnie Pullum were all charged with assaulting Michael Blackwell, 37, in Cleveland.

Court documents show charges were dropped Thursday against Johnson and Melton. The charges against Green and Pullum remain pending with a Jan. 16 court appearance scheduled.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

N.C. State sophomore guard Markell Johnson’s pretrial hearing on his felony assault charges has been continued until Jan. 16 at 9 a.m.

Johnson, Demarious Green, Michael Melton and Johnnie Pullum were indicted on Dec. 5. The four are charged with assaulting Michael Blackwell, 37, in Cleveland in early October.

Defense attorneys, including Johnson’s attorney John Paris, expressed concern that Johnson would be unable to play basketball or receive his scholarship while the case was pending. Paris indicated additional witness statements would demonstrate that there were errors in the initial police report.

According to the Oct. 8 Cleveland police report, Blackwell said he got into a verbal altercation with Johnson. Blackwell said Johnson struck him in the face “about 10 times” before he fought back. In the police report, Blackwell also says that Green, Melton and Pullum threw punches and grabbed his neck before Blackwell bit one of his attackers.

Blackwell later that night sought medical attention and later told police his eye socket was fractured and he suffered a concussion. Blackwell also received stitches, according to the police report.

In 2015, Johnson told recruiting and high school sports website The Left Bench that Melton and Blackwell were mentors to him: “Living in the townhouses where I grew up, my next door neighbor Mike Blackwell taught me a lot about the game. He didn’t just tell me, he showed me and helped me.”

The Cuyahoga County prosecutor’s office is expected this week to send its own investigators to interview Johnson’s mother, Sabrina Johnson, and other witnesses.

Under N.C. State’s student-athlete code of conduct, Johnson is suspended from the basketball team until the felony charge is resolved.

Under Ohio law, felony assault is a second-degree felony punishable by two to eight years in prison if convicted. If charges are reduced to a misdemeanor due to a plea offer, it’s punishable by no more that six months in county jail. If Johnson accepts such a plea bargain, he could be eligible to return to N.C. State’s team. It will, however, be up to N.C. State coaches and administrators as to whether or not he’s allowed to return. An N.C. State basketball spokesman declined to comment.

Johnson, who was N.C. State’s starting point guard for the season’s first 10 games prior to his Dec. 14 suspension, has missed the team’s last six games, including the Wolfpack’s 96-85 win over Duke on Saturday. N.C. State has gone 3-3 in those games, including 1-2 in ACC play.

He’ll miss the Wolfpack’s (11-5, 1-2 ACC) two games this week; the first against No. 25 Clemson at home on Thursday, and the second on Sunday at No. 8 Virginia.

The felony assault case against suspended N.C. State basketball player Markell Johnson has been continued until Jan. 8, according to his attorney’s office.

Johnson and three other defendants were in court Thursday morning for a pretrial conference at the Cuyahoga (Ohio) County Justice Center in Cleveland, Ohio. The four are charged with assaulting Michael Blackwell, 37, in Cleveland on Oct. 8.

Johnson, Demarious Green, Michael Melton and Johnnie Pullum were indicted on Dec. 5. Each was jailed on Dec. 20, ordered to supply a DNA sample and released on $5,000 bond.

According to the Cleveland police report, Blackwell suffered a broken left orbital bone and a concussion. He posted a photo of himself, bloodied, on Facebook on Oct. 8.

When contacted Thursday in Cleveland, Blackwell declined to comment.

Johnson, 19, and his attorney have not responded to requests for comment.

Johnson, was N.C. State’s starting guard for the first 10 games this season and played Dec. 9 against Missouri-Kansas City in the game at Reynolds Coliseum. An NCSU spokesman said Thursday the school did not learn of the indictment until Dec. 14, announcing on Dec. 16 that Johnson had been suspended indefinitely for violating the school’s student-athlete code of conduct.

“We acted appropriately as soon as we found out about it,” Wolfpack coach Kevin Keatts said Thursday.

Johnson sat on the sideline, not in uniform, for the Wolfpack’s game against UNC Greensboro that day.

Keatts said he has had contact with Johnson but did not comment on what was said between the two.

According to the school’s code of conduct, a student-athlete charged with a felony crime will be immediately and indefinitely suspended from athletics participation, pending the final disposition of all charges.

In Ohio, a felonious assault is defined as “knowingly causing serious physical harm to another person” and is a second-degree felony unless the victim is a law-enforcement officer.

While Johnson was indicted in Cuyahoga County on Dec. 5 – and played for N.C. State four days later – the structure of the Ohio court system might have caused some of the confusion on Johnson’s end.

Cuyahoga County sent a certified letter to Johnson’s Cleveland address on Dec. 5 to notify Johnson of the charges and his court date. Johnson wasn’t in Ohio on Dec. 11, when the letter was signed for at the home address.

In the North Carolina court system, Johnson would have been arrested and taken before a magistrate to determine bond conditions on the same day. The felony charge would have triggered the automatic suspension under the athletic department’s rules.

The Wolfpack faces Clemson on Saturday in its ACC opener and plays Notre Dame (Jan. 3) and Duke (Jan. 6) before Johnson’s pretrial hearing.

Wolfpack junior Torin Dorn said the players are not aware of all the details of Johnson’s case.

“We don’t know a lot that’s going on, either,” Dorn said Thursday. “We’re just hoping for the best for him in his situation and praying for him. We hope his situation gets figured out and he’ll be back with us, hopefully.”

Raleigh, N.C. — A felony assault case in Ohio against North Carolina State guard Markell Johnson was continued Thursday morning until early January.

Johnson, 19, and three others were charged Dec. 5 with felony assault in connection with an October incident.

Johnson posted a $5,000 cash bail on Dec. 20 and appeared Thursday morning for a pretrial hearing in Cuyahoga County court.

The case was continued until Jan. 8, according to WKYC.

Johnson started the first 10 games of NC State’s season before being suspended indefinitely on Dec. 16, prior to the Wolfpack’s game against UNC-Greensboro.

The school said Dec. 16 that Johnson committed a violation of the student-athlete code of conduct and has not commented on the matter since.

Johnson averaged 8.7 points and 6.6 assists in 10 starts for the Wolfpack.

Prior to arriving in Raleigh, Johnson starred at Cleveland’s East Tech High School. He was named Cleveland.com Boys Basketball Player of the Year following a junior season in which he averaged 31.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.5 steals.