After a summer of waiting and wondering, Jack Jones is free and clear, at least legally.
The Patriots cornerback agreed to a deal in Boston Municipal Court Tuesday, where prosecutors dropped charges against Jones. In doing so, the 25-year-old gets one year of pre-trial probation and 48 hours of community service. He could still face discipline from the league for potential violations of the personal conduct policy.
The 2nd year pro faced multiple charges, including two counts of possession of a concealed weapon in a secure area (airport), unlawful possession of a firearm, carrying a loaded firearm, and possession of a large-capacity feeding device.
Prosecutors say that Jones brought a duffel bag to the airport that day and tried to make his way through a TSA security checkpoint with a box inside, one that allegedly contained two guns with two loaded magazines and another two in the box.
As to why the charges were dropped, the Suffolk County District Attorney explained in what is called a noile prosequi (which is a fancy description for dropping the charges). It read, in part:
“The Commonwealth states that consistent with its standard of review in all cases, it has thoroughly reviewed all the evidence in this case and determined that it cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Jones had knowledge that he possessed the firearms in his bag at the time of the incident.“
Additionally, the DA wrote, “The Commonwealth has been provided documentation and verified that Mr. Jones purchased both firearms lawfully in the state of Arizona and has taken steps to become a lawful gun owner in the state of Massachusetts within this 60-day period.”
Jones has not spoken often since his arrest, but in his most recent interview, did admit that, at times, it has been challenging to focus on football with all that had been hanging over him. His play during training camp was uneven, and he got a ton of snaps in the preseason, which led some to wonder if perhaps the Pats knew he might have to miss time. Instead, Jones overcame the first hurdle, with only the league hurdle potentially looming. Oh, that and A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith on Sunday.