Red Huber / Orlando Sentinel

Brian Jones looks to the court gallery before being sentenced in an Orlando courtroom for his role in the hazing death of a Florida A&M University band member on Monday.

The first of 12 defendants in the deadly hazing case of Florida A&M drum major Robert Champion was sentenced by an Orlando court on Monday.

Brian Jones, 23, avoided a jail term, but was sentenced to six months of community supervision — a strict monitoring arragement that requires an ankle monitor and frequent check-ins with probation officials — followed by two years of probation. He is also required to do 200 hours of community service, The Associated Press reported.

The band had traveled to Orlando from Tallahassee to perform at a football game when the fellow band members subjected Champion to a severe beating on the bus — in a ritual called "crossing Bus C" — which caused him to fall unconscious, and then die, on Nov. 19, 2011.

Jones, a percussionist, faced up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. But the judge said Jones’ role had been relatively limited.

"This young man's part in this horrible act ... as compared with many others from what I've seen is minimal," said Judge Marc Lubet, ruling in Orange County Court. "It was an isolated incident in this man's life for which he's shown remorse."

Lubet quoted Abraham Lincoln as he announced the sentence, saying that "mercy bears richer fruit than strict justice," the Orlando Sentinel reported.

After initially pleading not guilty, Jones entered a no-contest plea Oct. 9 to a third-degree felony hazing charge.

Champion’s parents attended Monday's court proceedings. Prior to the sentencing, his mother challenged the idea that Jones’ role had been minor:

"You and I know that's not true," said Pam Champion, addressing Jones, and carrying a picture of her son. "You played a critical role."

"You won't be able to put it out if your mind...It will haunt you," she told Jones.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Florida A&M University, shaken by the hazing death of a marching band drum major last year, suspended a student dance group on Tuesday after receiving a tip that members were involved in an off-campus hazing incident over the weekend.

Interim President Larry Robinson ordered the suspension of the Torque Dance Team until an investigation could be completed. The move follows tightened scrutiny of alleged hazing activities following the November death of Robert Champion.

Prosecutor: At least 13 to be charged in FAMU band hazing case

"We have zero tolerance for hazing," Robinson said, adding the suspension followed an anonymous tip from a parent. "It is unconscionable that a student organization would participate in any hazing activity considering what has transpired in the past year."

The campus police chief, dean of students and director of student activities were all notified of the allegations. Robinson said they have launched an investigation, but details about what may have happened weren't released.

According to university records, the dance team had already been inactive since December 2011 because it didn't have an adviser. 

Champion, 26, died on a band charter bus after the university's renowned "Marching 100" band traveled from its Tallahassee campus to Orlando to participate in the annual "Battle of the Bands" and the "Florida Classic" football game between two historically black universities.

Officials with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement determined he died due to a brutal hazing incident in which he was subjected to a ritualistic beating. Thirteen band members have been charged in connection with Champion's death.

Also following Champion's death, FAMU suspended new membership intake for all clubs and organizations and implemented more strict procedures. That recruitment ban is set to be lifted this month.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Don Juan Moore / AP

Florida A&M Marching 100 Band during the game against Delaware State Hornets at Bragg Memorial Stadium on Oct. 1, 2011 in Tallahassee, Fla.

Florida A&M University’s famed marching band will remain suspended through the 2012-13 academic year as the school continues to wrestle with the aftermath of the hazing death of a drum major last fall.

FAMU President James Ammons made the announcement during a teleconference Monday with the university’s board of trustees. He said time is needed to come up with a new set of guidelines before the Marching 100 can be reinstated.

"I was heavily influenced by the need to be respectful to Robert Champion's family as well as the other victims," Ammons said. "A young man lost his life and others suffered serious injuries."

Authorities say Champion, 26, was badly beaten during a hazing incident on a band bus following a football game in Orlando. He died within an hour of the attack. His death, which was ruled a homicide, has drawn public scrutiny to what critics say has been a tradition of hazing at the Tallahassee-based university.

Band director Julian White, who had been with the prestigious band for 40 years, resigned under pressure last week.  He had been put on paid administrative leave shortly after Champion’s death in November. Two music professors also resigned recently.

Archive video: Parents to sue bus company

Thirteen people were charged last week in connection with Champion's death -- 11 are facing felony hazing charges and two others are charged with misdemeanor hazing.

"No one would have expected that his college experience would have included being pummeled to death," Lawson Lamar, the state attorney for Orange-Osceola County, said at the news conference announcing the charges. “I have come to believe that hazing is a term for bullying, bullying with a tradition.”

The Marching 100, which incorporates dance moves into traditional marching formations, had been a source of pride for the school. It played in inaugural parades for Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, and in several Super Bowls. According to its website, many of the Marching 100's techniques have become standard operating procedures for high school and college programs throughout the nation.

The suspension means there will be no marching band for the upcoming college football season. University officials are looking into the impact on football game ticket sales and other contractual obligations.

Ammons said there is no timetable yet for bringing the band back.

"Once I feel that the issues are resolved, then we'll look at the reimplementation of the band," he told trustees.

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