Jack Jones’ Attorney Slams Media For Painting ‘Thug’ Narrative
'He had no intention of bringing any guns into Logan Airport'
Jack Jones on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to a handful of gun-related charges when he was arraigned in municipal court in East Boston after an incident Friday night at Logan Airport.
The New England Patriots cornerback did not speak directly with the media after his appearance but his attorney, Rosemary Scapicchio, offered a statement on behalf of the 25-year-old Jones.
Scapicchio did not directly address the incident in question, and deflected when asked about the two handguns that allegedly were found in Jones’ bag. She instead slammed the media and social media for, as she put it, painting Jones out to be a “thug.”
“And as far as Mr. Jones is concerned, it’s the social media and the media who have turned him into a thug, who have labeled him as a thug with no evidence whatsoever,” Scapicchio told reporters Tuesday, per MassLive. “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. This is the institutional racism that we deal with everyday in the court system.
“There’s no indication whatsoever that he was anyway disrespectful. There’s no information at all that he wanted to be a gang member, or a thug. He’s a young Black man charged with a crime. Therefore he must want to be a gang member. He must want to be a thug. That label that has been attached to him on social media almost got him fired, and it was completely unfounded.”
You can watch Scapicchio’s full statement here.
Scapicchio noted how Jones cooperated with police during his arrest and followed through on his promise of being present at his arraignment.
“He did nothing that would suggest he was in any way trying to act as a thug or want to be gang member. That’s made up from social media and that needs to stop,” she said.
Scapicchio stressed how it was important to stick to the facts of the case: that police found two guns in a carry-on bag that they say was Jones’.
“He had no intention of bringing any guns into Logan Airport that day,” she said. “And I expect that the evidence is going to show that he had no knowledge of what was going on.”
Scapicchio stated how Jones was the recipient of an accusation, and that he should be presumed incident until proven guilt in the court of law. She expressed how Jones’ case should be no different than any other criminal case.
When asked why Scapicchio was putting so much weight into what was being shared on social media, she responded: “I’m not giving any weight to it whatsoever. I didn’t give any weight to it. This happened on its own. Somebody made up a rumor and it took on a life of its own.”
Jones on Tuesday reportedly was charged with two counts each of possession of a concealed weapon in a secure area of an 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.
The 2022 fourth-round pick reportedly posted $30,000 cash bail and is scheduled to appear in court again Aug. 18.
