Today, that hope became a reality.
According to the Knoxville News Sentinel, Knox County prosecutors have dropped all charges against Jackson, as well as all robbery-related charges against the female "getaway" driver.
The DA's office said in a press release that the decision "was made after an intensive investigation by the Knoxville Police Department, numerous interviews of persons with any relevant information on these charges and reveiws [sic] of more than 10 hours of video and audio records related to the charges.""The investigation and careful review of all relevant evidence failed to show ... Ms. Montmarquet or Mr. Jackson has prior knowledge that the attempted robbery was going to take place and were unaware something had occurred until after they pulled out of the Pilot store," according to the DA's statement."Therefore, there is an insufficient legal basis to continue a prosecution against them."Both Ms. Montmarquet and Mr. Jackson cooperated with the Knoxville Police Department from the time they were pulled over and voluntarily responded to police questioning. Their statements assisted the investigation and were consistent with the other evidence developed."The DA's statement continued, "It is an ethical obligation and the standard practice of district attorneys to dismiss charges at the earliest stage of the criminal justic [sic] process once investigations reveal the evidence will not support a conviction and occurs almost daily in the Knox County courts."
The charges against Richardson and Edwards, who were both kicked from the football program a couple of days after the arrests, are still in place and a preliminary hearing will take place this morning as scheduled.
Jackson has not been officially suspended by head coach Lane Kiffin, but he has been barred from all team activities and missed the two games played since the incident.
The school has yet to comment on this latest development.
