Mychal Bell, Jena 6 defendent, charged with shoplifting, resisting arrest in Monroe Louisiana
Categories: Jena 6, Justice/Law Enforcement
Written By: Shawn Williams
I received a text message out of Louisiana today late this afternoon:
Mychal Bell arrested for shoplifting and assault for hitting a security guard with his elbow trying to get away.
A quick check of the net proved my source was right on it. According to the News-Star out of Monroe, Louisiana, Bell is free on bond after being arrested on Christmas Eve. He’s charged with shoplifting, resisting arrest and simple battery, related to an incident at Dillard’s in Pecanland Mall in Monroe. This comes less than less than a month after he completed a sentence for his role in a fight with classmate, Justin Barker, at Jena High School in 2006.
Here’s more from the Star-News article:
- Police said Bell and an unidentified male were spotted Wednesday by store security after they placed $370 worth of merchandise in a Dillard’s shopping bag. After the two separated, Bell left the store, was followed by a security officer, and began running through the parking lot.
- Bell was booked into Richwood Correctional Center and released on $1,300 bond. He will be arraigned at a later date. Each of the charges carries a possible penalty of up to six months in jail.
- Louis Scott who has represented Bell in the past said that preconceived notions on the part of Dillard’s employees may have played a role in Bell’s arrest. “Dillard’s has a tradition of being overly suspicious of young black males,” Scott said.
Scott said that personal and court experiences have led him to that conclusion. “He should at least have the presumption of innocence,” he said.
It’s hard to presume innocence when a brother is running through the parking lot. Back in February, Bryant R. Purvis, 19, -another Jena defendent- was arrested on a charge of assault causing bodily injury after an altercation at Hebron High School outside of Dallas.
This continues a sad story that has followed one of the biggest civil rights actions in recent memory. Money squabbles and run ins with the law give more ammunition to those who questioned the protests -and the vigorous defense of the Jena 6- in the first place. It’s another example of how our follow through on civil rights issues is sorely lacking.
December 29th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Actually Shawn it is not sad. It is a learning lesson. The people were marching for the 8th amendment not individuals, but it is common in our community to mistake battles over a principle with battles for a personality. This is why plaintiffs were carefully vetted during the civil rights movement before Houston and Marshall and company would take up their case. They never wanted individual failings to get in the way of the overall cause.
The civil rights issue was addressed. Civil Rights isn’t social work. You saved them from an attempted murder charge. You did your duty.
December 29th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
damn shame, what a disgrace!
December 30th, 2008 at 12:40 am
Its official, the Civil Rights movement is an unmitigated failure!!!! Jena 6 was a disaster and all those integrationist sell out negroes who marched are a bunch of ignorant boobs!!!! WEB DuBois is an idiot. We should have followed Booker T Washington instead.
December 30th, 2008 at 7:39 am
Gem (good to hear from you sister) you’re absolutely right. It’s not sad for the movement as much as it is sad for all the stupid Al From Bay Shore’s in the world. I had to post his comments for their sheer ignorance.
Justice has to be served regardless, like the Voltaire quote that I recently read on your site. But most of all it’s sad on a personal level for Mychal Bell.
December 30th, 2008 at 8:48 am
I’ve seen this all my life. Most times, kids take a second chance and turn it into an opportunity. Some, like Bell, go the other way.
December 30th, 2008 at 8:52 am
We should take into consideration the harm and confusion young Mychall Bell has experienced as a result of the tremendous media attention and allegations of misuse of funds, in addition to his being made into an almost prophet. If done right, Bell would have been constantly counseled and mentored throughout this period - not let loose out into a world that has “chosen” him as a mascot as America’s #1 symbol for Black male racial profiling.
Let’s not be dismayed, because it could have been worse, i.e. his being arrested for assault, murder, etc. His was a victimless crime. We should get over this - right now.
December 30th, 2008 at 9:38 am
It’s another example of how our follow through on civil rights issues is sorely lacking.
From the perspective of someone who always thought it was a criminal issue much more than a racial issue, this is exactly what you would expect to see. A criminal doesn’t rehabilitate when the community tells him that what he did wasn’t wrong, which is what I would expect most people to glean from the sort of support he garnered.
There is a very good chance that the community that supported him was the enabler that allowed him to continue to this point.
December 30th, 2008 at 9:41 am
Phelps,
This was a social justice issue. He or any of the other defendants didn’t deserve attempted murder for that fight. Race came in because most of us feel that the case of someone white -like Shannon Finley in Paris- would have been treated less severely.
December 30th, 2008 at 11:20 am
Finley is being prosecuted for murder (by the Harris brothers, too). I don’t believe that there is a higher crime. I don’t accept that it is somehow nicer to kill someone because you want their wallet than if you kill someone because of the color of their skin.
I believe that black people are treated more harshly for drug crimes. I don’t believe that black people are treated more harshly for violent crimes (and I do believe that everyone should be treated more harshly than we do now for violent crimes.)
December 30th, 2008 at 11:37 am
P-Diddy
Finley served 3 years for putting 3 bullets in his best friends dome. They called it manslaughter.
December 30th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Combs walked.
Marshall Mathers didn’t.
I didn’t hear the evidence at Finley’s trial, but if it was as you have presented, then he should have gotten murder. Then again, McClelland’s testimony might have had something to do with the light sentence. Seems like being friends with Finley is pretty dangerous.