Safety Janzen Jackson was originally being held in lieu of a $15,000 bond, but was released this afternoon on his own recognizance. The other two players involved in the incident -- wide receiver Nu'Keese Richardson and defensive back Mike Edwards -- remain in the Knox County Jail on $19,500 bonds. All three freshman have been charged with three counts each of attempted armed robbery.
Jackson's attorney said his client is innocent, and hopes to have the issues surrounding his involvement cleared up in the next day or two.
"Mr. Jackson vehemently asserts his innocence and hopes to be able to demonstrate that in the next 24 to 48 hours," attorney Donald Bosch said.
There are rumors making the rounds on Volunteer-specific websites that Jackson either has had all charges dropped against him, or that he will soon have them dropped.
According to the chatter, Jackson was inside the convenience store when Richardson and Edwards allegedly attempted to rob three males sitting in a car parked outside the store. Apparently, Jackson had no idea what was alleged to have happened was going to go down.
As of this evening, none of that has been confirmed.
Aside from a statement from athletic director Mike Hamilton this morning, there have been no comments made on the arrests by anyone officially connected to the university, including head coach Lane Kiffin.
Re: "Aside from a statement from athletic director Mike Hamilton this morning, there have been no comments made on the arrests by anyone officially connected to the university, including head coach Lane Kiffin."
This is a major discovery! There is a way to shut him up!
Innocent....now that's funny. Let's see...drugs were found in the car, oops didn't know they were in there...hoods were laying on the seats when the car was stopped, oops didn't see them either....pellet gun found on seat, oops now I'm just freakin blind...drug paraphenelia found in the car, oops didn't know what that smell was..nose congested.....out at 2:00 am on school night...oops that doesn't add up gotta think faster of my feet ....went into the store and didn't know they were going to do this, oops don't want to turn my homies in, oops, when I came out and saw what was happening, oops I got into the car anyway....CAN I just keep saying oops and everyone will be too stupid to know that basically I knew EXACTLY what was going down....oops...did it again....Hopefully the Jackson family will get his son as far away as possible from this situation if he has the chance....and I wonder how long before Richardson starts telling everyone about what REALLY went down during his recruiting....OOOPS for Layla...
A gator fan commenting on another team's legal issues? Classic. Pot meet kettle. Half of your team has been in jail at one time or another.
PowerT says:
Dude, twist it any way you want. I think it's agreed that all 3 of these players should be immediately suspended upon further review.
Kiffin has done nothing, it is very obvious that he is doing everything in his powers to manipulate this to keep Jackson eligible and at Tennessee. After all the crap Layla has spewed with the latest being " Obviously Urban will discipline his team - or not - however he feels". How ironic!!
You getting what you deserve...and after the national media backlash on the Spikes issue, which all of you VOL fans delighted in...let's see how you feel in the next couple of days when the media shoe is on the other foot and no matter how Layla tries to squirm out of this one; the administration cannot afford to ever let these 3 suit up ever again in Knoxville. We're talking ARMED ROBBERY man...get a grip and take ownership of YOUR brash slash & burn coach!!!
Kiffin can comment on the arrests as long as an SEC ref does not rule they are guilty of armed robbery -- then he must keep quiet or face suspension. Since there is no sign of excessive celebration in the leaked arrest videos, the SEC refs are probably going to sit this one out.