Jack Jones attorney rips media, says Patriots CB had 'no intention' of bringing guns to airport
New England Patriots defensive back Jack Jones was arraigned on weapons charges during a court appearance in Boston Tuesday.
The 25-year-old pleaded not guilty and posted his $30,000 cash bail. Jones is scheduled back in court for a probable cause hearing on Aug. 18 — the same day as the Patriots’ second preseason game.
Jones was arrested Friday at Boston’s Logan Airport after two handguns were found in his luggage. The 2022 fourth-round draft pick out of Arizona State has multiple charges against him: Possession of a concealed weapon in a secure area of the airport, possession of ammunition without a firearm identification card, unlawful possession of a firearm, carrying a loaded firearm and possession of a large-capacity feeding device.
His attorney, Rosemary Scapicchio, said Jones had “no intention of bringing any guns into Logan Airport that day.”
“He had no intention of bringing any guns into Logan Airport that day. He had no intention of bringing any guns on to an airport that day,” Scapicchio said outside the courtroom, via ESPN. “I expect the evidence is going to show that he had no knowledge of what was going on.”
Scapicchio proceeded to lambast the media for turning Jones “into a thug.”
“It’s the social media, and the media, who have turned him into a thug, who have labeled him a thug, with no evidence whatsoever,” Scapicchio said. “Because he’s a young Black man, all of a sudden, he’s a thug. That’s what happened here. It’s disrespectful to Mr. Jones and every other Black man in America. This is the institutional racism we deal with every day in the court system.
“… That label that was attached to him through social media almost got him fired, and it was completely unfounded.”
Jack Jones focusing on getting back to playing football
In his first season in New England, Jones recorded 30 tackles, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, two interceptions and six passes defended. He returned one of his interceptions for a touchdown. The Patriots suspended Jones in December of last year due to a violation of team rules.
Scapicchio said that all Jones wants to do is “support his family and play football.”
“All Mr. Jones wants to do is play football. He doesn’t want to be a distraction at all,” Scapicchio said. “He wants to support his family and play football… We’re grateful to the Patriots organization and to the leaders of the Patriots that they didn’t believe and feed into what was happening on social media where people were saying he was trying to get the guns past security.
“Nothing could be further from the truth. That’s not what happened in this case. I suggest we wait to hear all of the evidence before people jump to a conclusion.”