Did Patriots cornerback Jack Jones get off easy in gun case? 

WITH THE OFF-FIELD behavior of professional athletes an increasing focus of concern, getting busted trying to bring two loaded guns through security at Logan Airport certainly was not exactly a good look for a guy about to start his second season with the New England Patriots. And to any armchair jurist it seemed an open-and-shut criminal case. 

Jack Jones, a second-year cornerback with the team, was arrested in June at Logan when screeners found two loaded Glock 9mm handguns in his carry-on bags, along with several magazines of ammunition. A slew of criminal charges were filed, but this week the Suffolk district attorney’s office dropped all of them in exchange for Jones being put on pre-trial probation and agreeing to 48 hours of community service. 

As far as sports writers were concerned, it was the ultimate blown call. 

“It is outrageous,” said the Globe’s Dan Shaughnessy, saying the “laughable Suffolk county DA” applied an “embarrassing and dangerous double standard.” 

“Is anyone else scratching their head” over the decision to drop charges, asked Channel 5 sports guy Mike Lynch.

While the journalists may have been doing their job, to borrow a phrase, by asking whether Jones got special treatment, the DA’s office and some legal experts insist prosecutors were doing theirs in deciding not to pursue gun possession charges against Jones. 

“We were consistent in applying review in this case similarly to what we do in other cases,” said Hayden spokesman Jim Borghesani. 

In its court filing declaring that it won’t proceed with the charges, the DA’s office wrote that it “it has thoroughly reviewed all the evidence in this case and determined that it cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Jones had knowledge that he possessed the firearms in his bag at the time of the incident.” 

Gasper found prosecutors’ claim wanting. His translation of the DA’s legalese: “You’re responsible for what’s in your luggage – unless you’re an NFL player.” 

Greg Henning, the former chief of the gun prosecution task force in the Suffolk DA’s office, said it’s easy to see a double standard in the case, but there may be less to that than meets the eye. 

“If you’re using the common sense lens, it seems shocking that you wouldn’t be held criminally responsible for something in your possession,” Henning said. “But criminal law requires more than a common sense thought that a person must have known they possessed something.” Henning said there’s a “knowledge component” to any possessory offense that requires proving that an individual knew what was in the bag. He said arguing that others had access to your luggage while it was being packed, for example, could be enough to be cleared of a possession charge. 

“It’s a judgment call by the DA, and they make them all the time,” he said.  

He said Jones having the guns in his luggage is “as close to possession as you can get” while still having legal wiggle room. “There is a potential reasonable doubt that he knew the guns were in there,” said Tracy. 

Making the DA’s decision to drop the case seem more tangled is the fact that prosecutors say they weren’t sure they could prove Jones knew he had the guns at the airport – while also saying the guns were, in fact, his. Although Jones was not licensed to carry a handgun in Massachusetts, the DA’s office says he legally purchased the two guns in Arizona and “has taken steps to become a lawful gun owner in Massachusetts” within a 60-day grace period the law provides for. 

If the “Patriot Way” is finding a way to win even when things look bad, Jones seems to have scored even before the team’s season kicks off this Sunday.