One Of The Jena Six In Today's Local News

Rockadelic

This was a much discussed topic here a few months back....this is from today's local paper....thought some might be interested.http://www.star-telegram.com/news/story/460093.htmlPolice: race not a factor in new case involving Jena Six member[/b] BY BILL [email]MILLERwmiller@star-telegram.com[/email] Bryant Purvis, one of the Jena Six, was arrested Wednesday in Carrollton on a charge of assault causing bodily injury. Crime Time blog Race does not appear to be involved in an assault case in which a teenager involved in the Jena Six case in Louisiana is accused of hurting another student at his new school in Carrollton, police said.Bryant Purvis, 19, was arrested around noon Wednesday in connection with the assault which was reported a few hours earlier at Hebron High School. He was one of a half-dozen students at the center of the "Jena Six" case which last year raised heated allegations of racially biased prosecution in the small Louisiana town of Jena.Purvis enrolled recently at Hebron to focus on school and play basketball. He couldn't be reached for comment Thursday because there's no listed number for the uncle he lives with in Texas, Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Jason Hatcher.But police don't believe race played a role in the assault of an 18-year-old student at Hebron, based on statements from both Purvis and the other student, said Sgt. John Singleton, police spokesman.According to the arrest warrant affidavit in the case, the student who accused Purvis said he was first approached by two other boys who asked him if he flattened the tires on Purvis' car. The student next felt someone approach him from behind, grab him by the neck and shove him down, the affidavit said. The student said it was Purvis who grabbed him, warned him not to mess with his car, and then pushed his head into the seat of a bench, according to the affidavit. The affidavit also noted that Purvis wrote in his statement that: "I walked over to him and grabbed him by his neck, then told him not to mess with my car anymore, then I left."Purvis was charged Wednesday with assault causing bodily injury, a misdemeanor, according to Denton County Jail records.Bond was set at $1,000 and he was released at 1:27 a.m. Thursday, the records show. His mother, Tina Jones, told the Alexandria Daily Town Talk newspaper that Wednesday morning someone told him who vandalized the vehicle."I wish he could just get in a place where he could walk away from the situation," Jones told the newspaper. "I understand he gets frustrated. But he needed to walk away from this situation, being that he's already in a situation. It's very frustrating and upsetting to have to go through so much."School officials were still investigating the incident, said Dean Tackett, a spokesman for the Lewisville school district, which includes Hebron. He explained that the usual punishment for a verified assault is three days suspension, followed by seven to 10 days at an off-campus learning center. The student would not be able to participate in school activities while suspended or at the learning center.The Jena Six were initially charged with attempted murder after a Dec. 4, 2006, assault on a white student. Charges were reduced, but the original counts caused angry complaints of harsh, racially motivated prosecution that led to 20,000 people marching last fall in Jena.Purvis faces aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy to commit battery charges in the Jena case and is set for trial in March. If convicted of both charges, he faces up to 22 1/2 years in prison.Purvis had stayed out of the spotlight for most of the year, but did appear on Black Entertainment Television's Hip-Hop Awards. Purvis and fellow defendant Carwin Jones helped present the Video of the Year award during the October awards show.