Mychal Bell, Jena Six Icon, Arrested on Shoplifting Charges, Reportedly Shot Himself in Chest

After so many people championed the cause of Jena Six, the last thing I expected to hear was that Mychal Bell, 18, was in trouble again. According to the Newsstar, Bell is free on bond following a Christmas Eve arrest on multiple charges, including shoplifting, resisting arrest and simple battery, related to an incident at Dillard’s in Pecanland Mall. Bell was arrested less than one month after he completed a sentence for his role in the beating of a fellow classmate, Justin Barker, at Jena High School in 2006.

Police said Bell and an unidentified male were spotted Wednesday by store security after they placed $370 worth of merchandise in a Dillard’s shopping bag. After the two separated, Bell left the store, was followed by a security officer, and began running through the parking lot. Police said Bell was discovered under a vehicle in the Sears parking lot. Lt. Jeff Harris said Bell began “swinging his arms wildly” and delivered a glancing blow to the security officer with his elbow.

Bell was booked into Richwood Correctional Center and released on $1,300 bond. He will be arraigned at a later date. Each of the charges carries a possible penalty of up to six months in jail. Louis Scott who has represented Bell in the past said that preconceived notions on the part of Dillard’s employees may have played a role in Bell’s arrest. “Dillard’s has a tradition of being overly suspicious of young black males,” Scott said. Scott said that personal and court experiences have led him to that conclusion. “He should at least have the presumption of innocence,” he said.

Dillard’s has been accused racial profiling in lawsuits in Texas, Mississippi, Kentucky and Georgia. A Dillard’s store manager in Monroe referred requests for comment to Roger Williams in the company’s Little Rock, Ark., office. A spokesperson who answered the phone in William’s office said he would have no comment on the matter. Scott has not been contacted to represent Bell on the current charges.“I am predicting that once all the facts are established, he probably will not be guilty,” Scott said. “There has been more put on this young man than anybody can bear — people trying to provoke him, trying to make him react.“If he was going to break the law, I believe he would have done it before.” Source: The Newsstar

I also read that he shot himself in the chest, but the wound is non-life threatening. Now, this young man should behave himself and watch the company he keeps. I am reminded of Rodney King and the widespread support he received for the brutal police beating he endured. After the dust settled, Rodney King never really changed his ways. He continued to have brushes with the law. OJ Simpson also comes to mind. He was acquitted in the murders of his wife and Ron Goldman, but he just couldn’t change his attitude. His sociopathic behavior helped to land him in prison for a long time. People are making excuses that this young man is marked, but what about personal responsibility? If you have had a brush with the law, conventional wisdom would dictate a complete paradigm shift and a more reserved lifestyle. You can’t continue the same lifestyle that helped to get you in trouble in the first place. It is a shame and if this young man doesn’t get his act together, he may very well end up behind bars for a longer stint.

Filed under: Arrested, Dillard's, Jena Six, Justin Barker, Mychal Bell, Shoplifting

Jena Six Defendant Bryant Purvis Accused of Assault at Texas School

I guess this kid, who was one of the six in the Jena affair, has not learned anything from that incident. I would have been inclined to believe that since so many people protested for the injustice these boys suffered that a light would have at least gone off in the head of this young man and set him on a path to a better life. Instead, he is looking at incarceration because of this altercation.

News reports have said that Bryant R. Purvis, 19, was charged Wednesday with one count of assault causing bodily injury for fighting with a fellow student at his high school in Texas, his mother said. Purvis who now lives in the Dallas area, was being held in the Carrollton, Texas, jail without bail pending a bond hearing Thursday morning, a jail official said. The charge is a Class A misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of a $4,000 fine and a year in jail. Tina Jones, Purvis’ mother, said her son got into an altercation with another student at Hebron High School early Wednesday after being told the student had vandalized his car the night before.“I wish he could just get in a place where he could walk away from the situation,” Jones said of her son. “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.”Jones said what happened really wasn’t a fight. Purvis went up to the other student, “grabbed him by the collar and pushed his head on the table, talking to him,” she said.“Bryant was very upset because he had a (basketball) game Tuesday night and, when (he went out to his car after) the game, someone made both tires on the passenger side flat,” Jones said.“And (Wednesday) morning, someone told him who done it. That’s the reason the altercation happened. And a few days before that happened, he was driving my brother’s truck and someone stole the tires and busted the windows out of it,” she said.

Purvis is one six black Jena High School students initially charged with attempted murder in connection with a Dec. 4, 2006, assault on white student Justin Barker at the LaSalle Parish school. Soon after Purvis’ arrest, Jones said she sent him to live with his uncle, Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Jason Hatcher, so he could stay out of trouble and out of the limelight.

It has been said that anytime there is a physical altercation at the school, police are called and arrests are made. Jones said the principal has told her Purvis will be suspended for three days and will face 10 days of in-school suspension. After that, he will be back in school normally.As for the charge he faces in court, she said, she is confident the judicial system in Texas will treat her son fairly. “It’s just another struggle that we have to go through.“I’m very upset right now with this situation.

Purvis is scheduled to go to trial March 24 before LaSalle District Court Judge J.P. Mauffray Jr. in connection with the Jena High attack, though Hickman has said that is “not a realistic date.”Purvis faces one count each of aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy to commit the same. If convicted of both, he faces a maximum sentence of 22.5 years in prison.

The bottomline is that this young man should not have found himself in this situation again and it shows that he has not changed his mindset or his behavior in light of the attention many championed for his cause. It has shown that he continues to make bad decisions quite cognizant of the ramifications. Going to the BET Hip Hop Awards is another story and worthy of debate because I believe that, given his circumstances, he should not have been allowed to attend by his mother. You be the judge…….

Filed under: Bryant Purvis, Jena, Jena Six, Louisiana