Granted, they don't identify the race of the victim, either.
CARROLLTON, Texas - A defendant in the Louisiana "Jena Six" case was arrested after allegedly slamming a student's head into a bench at his new school in Texas, police said.
The defendant, Bryant R. Purvis, 19, was arrested on a charge of assault causing bodily injury Wednesday after an altercation at Hebron High School. It began because Purvis believed a student had flattened his tires, Sgt. John Singleton said.
Purvis was released from jail Thursday morning.
According to a police report, the student felt Purvis come behind him and "grab his neck with one hand and begin to choke him." Purvis then said, "Don't you ever mess with my car again" and slammed the student's head into the bench of a table and walked away, the report said. The student's left eye was injured, but Singleton didn't know whether he needed medical attention after seeing the school nurse.
School district declined to comment on details of the incident.
Purvis was one of six black Jena High School students initially charged with attempted murder after a 2006 assault on a white student. Charges were reduced, but the original counts caused complaints of harsh, racially motivated prosecution that led to 20,000 people marching 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.
The Texas case had nothing to do with race, Singleton said.
"We don't believe there's any racial motivation behind it," he said. "It was basically a misdemeanor assault that occurred during an altercation."
No comments:
Post a Comment