Charges Dropped Against Vol Jackson

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The attempted armed robbery charges against Tennessee freshman safety Janzen Jackson have been dropped this morning.

Knox County prosecutors decided not to push forward against Jackson or the female driver of the getaway car for their involvement in a late night incident two weeks ago.  (She will face charges for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia, however.)

“The investigation and careful review of all relevant evidence failed to show… Ms. Montmarquet or Mr. Jackson had prior knowledge that the attempted robbery was going to take place and were unaware something had occurred until after they pulled out of the Pilot store.  Therefore, there is an insufficient legal basis to continue a prosecution against them.”

Jackson has remained on the team — but has been barred from team activities — for the past two weeks.  Mike Edwards and Nu’Keese Richardson were dismissed for their roles in the attempted robbery.

Observations:

* Sources inside the Knoxville Police Department felt that Jackson was just as involved in the attempted robbery as the other two Vol freshmen.  However, they also told me last week that the DA’s office was getting an incredible amount of pressure to drop the charges against Jackson.

* Ultimately, the DA must decided if there’s enough evidence to prosecute and he’s made his decision.  So perhaps the KPD simply felt that they had enough evidence… when they actually did not.

* Or there really was strong pressure for the DA to drop the charges.

UPDATE — A reliable source inside the Knox County District Attorney’s office says there was absolutely no pressure brought by Tennessee officials in the case of Jackson.  Instead there was simply not “enough evidence to convict.”

* Multiple sources have told me that Lane Kiffin has been pushing to play Jackson — despite publicly saying that he would not do so.  If that’s the case, then I don’t think it will be too long before Jackson if fully reinstated to the Tennessee team.

* An attorney recently pointed out to me that “the dropping of charges” doesn’t mean someone is “innocent.”  It means there’s not enough evidence to prosecute.  Therefore the question for Kiffin and UT is this: If Jackson has had a history of missteps and been suspended for a game already (and he has), is it in the team’s best interest to overlook the fact that he was in a car with marijuana, drug paraphrenalia, and a CO2-powered pellet gun at 1:30 in the morning?

* Being that Jackson is a top notch football player and this is the SEC, I think we all know what Kiffin and UT will decide.  “Welcome back!” 

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