Pats CB Jones pleads not guilty to gun charges

Mike Reiss, ESPN Staff WriterJun 20, 2023, 11:38 AM ET
Close

New England Patriots cornerback Jack Jones was arraigned on weapons charges in East Boston Municipal Court on Tuesday. He pleaded not guilty, posted $30,000 cash bail and is next scheduled to appear in court Aug. 18 for a probable cause hearing.

Prosecutors said authorities at Boston’s Logan Airport found a Glock box with two guns and ammunition inside a bag with Jones’ name on it.

Jones, 25, was charged with two counts of the following offenses: 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.

Two of the counts against Jones carry mandatory minimum prison sentences of 2½ years if he is indicted and later convicted. Two other counts carry mandatory minimum sentences of 18 months if he is indicted and later convicted.

“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,” Jones’ attorney, Rosemary Scapicchio, said outside the courtroom. “I expect the evidence is going to show that he had no knowledge of what was going on.”

Scapicchio also took aim at coverage of Jones’ arrest.

“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,” she 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.”

The Aug. 18 court date for Jones comes one day before the Patriots are scheduled to visit the Green Bay Packers in the preseason. The Patriots are scheduled to practice in Wisconsin with the Packers on Aug. 16 and 17 leading up to the game.

“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.”

A 2022 fourth-round draft choice out of Arizona State, Jones had his rookie season end in late December because of a team suspension for an unspecified violation of club rules. His agent, Jamal Tooson, described it as a miscommunication regarding Jones’ rehabilitation from a knee injury.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick had said in March that the suspension was in the past, and Jones was lining up with the top unit at times in spring practices.

The 2022 team suspension marked a disappointing end to Jones’ rookie season, one in which he had said he was hoping to put off-field issues from college in the past.

In all, Jones played in 13 games (two starts) and totaled 30 tackles, 2 interceptions, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery. He played 54% of the team’s defensive snaps.

Jones began his college career at USC. He was arrested for breaking into a restaurant in 2018, and a plea agreement reduced the initial felony charges to a second-degree misdemeanor charge of commercial burglary. After Jones was dismissed from USC because of academic issues, he transferred to Moorpark, a junior college. He ultimately landed at Arizona State, where in 2020 he was also suspended for fighting during practice.

Patriots director of player personnel Matt Groh endorsed Jones after the team picked him in the fourth round, saying: “We’ve spent a lot of time with Jack to try and get comfortable and understand the different situations … and have a process in place to add him to our program.”

The Patriots’ lone comment on Jones’ arrest came late Friday when a spokesperson said: “We have been notified that Jack Jones was arrested at Logan Airport earlier today. We are in the process of gathering more information and will not be commenting further at this time.”

The Patriots’ offseason program officially ended Friday.