Remember the infamous “Jena Six”? The six black teenagers who beat up an innocent white kid (Justin Barker) in Louisiana after some unknown High School pranksters hung some nooses in nearby trees?
This was the last sentence in a previous post on the incident:
I look forward to the future crimes and subsequent lengthy prison sentences for the ‘Jena Six’.
It’ll read like a ‘let your life be a warning to others’ story.
I can hardly wait.http://sfcmac.wordpress.com/2007/11/13/the-jena-six-laugh-all-the-way-to-the-bank/
Well, I didn’t have to wait long.
MONROE, La. – A teen convicted in the “Jena Six” beating case shot himself in the chest and was taken to the hospital Monday, days after his arrest on a shoplifting charge, police said.
Mychal Bell’s wound isn’t life threatening, said Monroe Police Sgt. Cassandra Wooten. The 18-year-old used a .22-caliber firearm in the shooting around 7:40 p.m., she said.
Wooten believes Bell was upset over media coverage of the arrest last week.
“I think he was upset over the incident … and didn’t want to be in the news again,” she said.
Bell was one of a group of black teenagers who once faced attempted murder charges in the 2006 beating of a white classmate at Jena High School. The charges for all of the defendants were reduced.
……Bell was in the news again after he was arrested on Dec. 24 and booked on charges of shoplifting, resisting arrest and simple assault, police said.
Police said Bell tried to steal several shirts and a pair of jeans from a department store and fled when a security guard and off-duty police officer tried to detain him. After they found him hiding under a car, Bell “swung his arms wildly” and one of his elbows struck the security guard with a glancing blow, according to a police report. He was freed on $1,300 bond.
Prior to the assault on Justin Barker, Bell had been to court three times on assault charges within two years. In October of 2006, he was sentenced to 18 months in the slammer for violating probation, two counts of simple battery, and two counts of criminal destruction of property.
After all the publicity surrounding his 2006 arrest, the last thing he should expect is a lack of media coverage. If he doesn’t want to be in the news again, he may want to reconsider his criminal career.