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New England Patriots cornerback Jack Jones pled not guilty to charges stemming from his arrest for allegedly having two loaded guns in his carry-on bag at Logan Airport last week while appearing at East Boston Municipal Court on Tuesday.
Moments after his arraignment ended, Jones' attorney, Rosemary C. Scapicchio, spoke to reporters outside the courtroom and took aim at those who were criticizing him following his arrest.
“It's the social media and the media that have turned him into a thug, who have labeled him a thug with no evidence whatsoever,” Scapicchio said. “This is not a situation where Mr. Jones ever wanted to be a thug or thought of as a thug. But because he's a young Black man, all of a sudden he's a thug. That's what's happened here. There's no evidence of that whatsoever and it's disrespectful to Mr. Jones and everyone else, every other Black man in America who is young and Black to be called a thug because he happens to be Black in this situation.
“This is the institutional racism we deal with every day in the court system. There's no indication in any way that he was disrespectful or any information that said he wanted to be a gang member or a thug. He's a young Black man charged with a crime.”
Scapicchio said that some of the labels that she claimed people called him nearly led to the Patriots releasing him, saying she was “grateful” to the “leaders of the Patriots” for not doing so.
“That label that was attached to him by social media almost got him fired.,” Scapicchio said. “And it was completely unfounded.”
Scapicchio also said that Jones behaved in the right manner following his arrest before saying her client had no intention of bringing a gun to Logan Airport last Friday.
“Mr. Jones did exactly what anyone else in his situation would've done,” Scapicchio said. “He cooperated with the police. He was arrested. He promised to be here. He showed up here this morning. He was polite to the police. He did nothing to suggest that he acted as a thug or a wannabe gang member. That's made up from social media, and that needs to stop. He's a young Black man charged with a crime.
“It happens all the time. Let's just deal with the actual facts. The facts of this case are that they found two guns in a carry-on bag they said was his. He had no intention of bringing any guns into Logan Airport that day. He had no intention of bringing any guns onto a plane that day. I expect the evidence is going to show he had no knowledge of what was going on.”
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Scapicchio declined to answer any questions on why Jones allegedly brought two guns to Logan Airport in a carry-on bag, though.
“It's a criminal case,” Scapicchio said. “That question's going to be answered in the courtroom just like every other criminal case.”
Jones' bail was set at $30,000, which he previously posted. He's due in court again on Aug. 18.
Jones' future with the Patriots still remains unknown. He's still on the current roster but the Patriots haven't commented about the situation since his arrest on Friday, saying they were still gathering details.
An NFL spokesperson issued a brief statement on the matter on Tuesday.
“We are following developments in the matter,” the spokesperson said.
An NFL spokesperson on Jack Jones, who is due back in court on August 18:
"We are following developments in the matter."
— Mark Daniels (@ByMarkDaniels) June 20, 2023
