Status of the investigation of Jones-Drew

Historic City News readers have come to expect that when we report on incidents in St Augustine and St Johns County, they will be written and edited by local staff who have years invested in the community and understand how things are done — good, bad, or otherwise — and, another perfect example is the incident involving 28-year-old Maurice Christopher Jones-Drew on Sunday, May 26, 2013.

Jacksonville news writers and editors, relying on how things are done in Jacksonville, in their eagerness to tell the world about an NFL football player involved in a skirmish off-the-field at the Conch House Reggae Sunday event in St Augustine, have now, hopefully, learned a few lessons:

St Augustine and St Johns County are not Jacksonville and Duval County.

St Johns County is in the 7th Judicial Circuit, not the 4th Judicial Circuit.

The processing of complaints in the 7th Circuit is different than in the 4th.

The resources of our small metropolitan police department do not equal theirs.

It is possible that if you push limited staff to cooperate immediately, you may not get the most complete or reliable information — especially after hours on a national holiday weekend.

But then, we already knew that.

The facts are that the St Augustine Police Department was called to the Conch House during their heavily attended Reggae Sunday event; responding to the complaint of an employee who claimed to be injured by a patron during an attempt to remove him from the property. The Security Officer called two other Security Officers, who were employed at the event, to assist him in dispersing an altercation.

By the time the police arrived, they learned of the victim’s allegation that he had been struck by Jones-Drew; who had already left the premises. Statements were taken from the victim and both security personnel who said they witnessed the incident.

A notarized statement alleging Misdemeanor Battery against Jones-Drew was executed by the victim. The police incident report included a narrative of the altercation as determined by police from evidence at the scene and witness statements.

The Jacksonville Jaguars player has not been charged with any crime and maintains his innocence. St Augustine Police Commander Stephen Fricke told Historic City News that Jones-Drew is cooperating fully with the investigation — which has not concluded.

In the 7th Judicial Circuit, the affidavit, a sworn statement of the allegations, is completed by police at the scene of an alleged crime. It may or may not be completed incidental to an arrest, and would not be sufficient to make an arrest on a misdemeanor allegation for actions that were not committed in the police officer’s presence — as in this case. That complaint is forwarded to State Attorney R. J. Larizza.

According to the local police department, who did provide a copy of the complaint affidavit in response to the request of Jacksonville reporters; in the 4th Circuit, completion of the notarized statement, constitutes “charges” being filed; where, to us, it only constitutes “complaints” being filed.

It is the State Attorney’s Office who brings “charges” — either on the finding of a grand jury, or on his own “information” — which is usually based on the “complaint” and the conclusions of police investigators and investigators in his own office. That investigative process is on-going, has not concluded, and it is not known, at this time, if charges will be forthcoming in this incident.