Today's Poll: Do you believe the criminal charges Melvin Jones III is facing will have an impact on his civil rights complaint against the Springfield Police Department?
The sun sets behind the Kansas City, Mo., skyline, marking the end of the longest day of the year which occurs on the summer solstice, Tuesday, June 21, 2011, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)The Forecast
According to the National Weather Service, today will be sunny with a high near 81 degrees.
Tonight, skies will be partly cloudy, with a low around 54. And beautiful summer weather is expected to stick around throughout the weekend.
Today's Poll
On Wednesday, Melvin Jones III, the Springfield man who was seen being beaten by city police on videotape back in 2009, was indicted by the FBI for conspiracy to sell crack cocaine and drug trafficking.
The FBI alleges that they have video of Jones selling crack to a federal informant on Dec. 2 and Dec. 13 of last year, although no statement was made by authorities as to the quantity of the drug Jones was allegedly caught selling.
Since the Nov. 2009 incident where Jones was seen on amateur video tape apparently being beaten in the face with a flashlight by now fired city cop Jeffrey M. Asher, he has been arrested twice.
On one occasion he is accused of stealing 33 pairs of pants from the J.C. Penny store on Boston Road and on the second, he is accused of choking a woman during a domestic dispute.
Shawn Allyn, a lawyer for Jones in his federal civil rights case, said he believes these charges are coming up now to further diminish his client's credibility as the case where he is named as a victim approaches.
“He’s just trying to tank the Asher case," Allyn told The Republican and MassLive.com "If he was serious about prosecuting Asher, he would have indicted him. The Feds rejected the (drug) case."
Allyn was referring to the fact that with the drug-related charges announced Wednesday by District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni, the same charges were referred to Superior Court by the U.S. Attorney’s office two weeks ago, but that office declined to prosecute the case for unexplained reasons.
Mastroianni has said that he is committed to prosecuting the case against Asher and that this case will have no impact on it. The FBI also said Wednesday that this case will have no impact on Jones' civil rights case pending in federal court.
To read the story about the drug-related indictment, click here.
To catch up on the entire saga surrounding Jones, click here.
Monday's Top 5:
The top 5 headlines on MassLive.com on June 29 were:
1) As Palmer tries to evict him for non-payment of taxes, Jay Noone calls property taxes 'extortion'
5) Investigators raid Wilbraham home, seize 73 marijuana plants, arrest Mark and Caroline Shields
Quote of the Day
“It’s such a mix of emotions. I met a lot of great people here, but it will be so good to finally sleep in a real bed.” said Deborah Flores, the last person to leave the Red Cross shelter at the MassMutual Center on Wednesday. To read the story of the shelter closing, click here.