Canan will protect Howard as “victim of a crime”

In the second published statement from an attorney in recent days regarding the incident involving 28-year-old Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Christopher Jones-Drew at the Conch House Reggae Sunday event on May 26, St Augustine Attorney Patrick Canan clarified that he will be protecting the interests of the security guard as a “victim of a crime”.

Hank Coxe, attorney for Jones-Drew, issued a press release almost immediately after the incident, claiming that his client wasn’t even at the bar and restaurant when the altercation he is accused of participating in occurred.

In yesterday’s edition of Historic City News, we ran an article “Attorney for Conch House security guard releases statement” that included comments from Ponte Vedra Beach attorney, Greg Anderson, supporting the security guard and Conch House saying that 31-year-old Kasim Antwan Howard acted professionally and was a victim of an attack by Jones-Drew.

Today’s statement from Canan:

On behalf of Kasim Howard, I would like to thank Conch House Lawyer, Greg Anderson, for his interim representation of Mr. Howard in the days following the battery at the Conch House on May 26, 2013. We look forward to working closely with Mr. Anderson in our pursuit of justice.

The Canan Law Firm has now been retained to protect Mr. Howard’s interest as a victim of a crime. I understand from press releases that Mr. Jones-Drew is cooperating with law enforcement. I am hopeful that his cooperation includes a truthful admission in which he takes responsibility for his actions.

Thus far, according to press releases, Mr. Jones-Drew has denied attacking Mr. Howard at the Conch House. Thankfully, the Conch House has an extensive video surveillance system. The altercation and immediate flight from the scene were captured on two separate video cameras.