LAS VEGAS -- Suspended NFL player Adam Jones surrendered and was released on $20,000 bail early Friday on felony charges in a strip club melee that preceded a triple shooting.
Jones is to return Las Vegas Justice Court on July 23, an aide to Clark County District Attorney David Roger said Friday. A booking photograph released by police showed the Tennessee Titans cornerback had cut his hair, shedding his distinctive dreadlocks.
Jones "was in and out around 2 a.m.," said Lt. Jason Letkiewicz, a Las Vegas police watch commander.
The player will plead not guilty to two felony charges of coercion stemming from allegations he threatened to kill Minxx club employees and that he bit a bar bouncer, his lawyer said. If convicted, Jones faces a maximum of 12 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
The charges in Las Vegas have cast more doubt on Jones' playing status with the Titans. Since he was drafted in April 2005, he has been arrested six times, although he has not been convicted.
Two associates, Sadia Morrison and Robert Reid, were scheduled to surrender later Friday, said Robert Langford, a lawyer for Jones. They also face felony charges in the Feb. 19 melee at the club several blocks off the Las Vegas Strip during the NBA All-Star Game weekend.
After his release, Jones flew to Nashville, Tenn., said Manny Arora, another lawyer for the player. Arora remained in Las Vegas to meet with Langford and Roger. The DA filed charges Wednesday against Jones, Morrison and Reid.
Jones has been involved in at least 11 separate police investigations, authorities say, and he's currently sought by Atlanta-area police for questioning in a shooting early Monday after a fight at a strip club there.
Jones has been suspended for the upcoming NFL season for disciplinary reasons. League and team officials had said he might be reinstated for good behavior after the Titans' 10th regular-season game.
Las Vegas police have described Reid, 37, of Carson, Calif., as Jones' bodyguard. He faces one felony coercion charge alleging he attacked a bouncer who tried to restrain Jones.
Morrison, 25, of New York, faces five charges including coercion, felony assault with a deadly weapon and battery stemming from allegations that she hit a bouncer in the head with a bottle and attacked other club employees with a chair and a stanchion.
Police have released an image drawn from surveillance cameras of a person sought as a "person of interest" in the shooting outside the club, which left a bar bouncer paralyzed and two other people with less serious wounds.
Las Vegas police also want to question Jones in a fight reported at another area strip club several days before the Minxx shooting.
I thought he had dreadlocks! He's a nice-looking youngin', straight phuckin' his life up doing stupid shit. He ain't been in the league no longer than a minute and he's already running the risk of jail time and/or no NFL Career period. What's wrong with these young people? Ain't no way in HELL that I would play with my money like that! We're talking millions here. Hell, I don't want to mess up the thousands I earn yearly.
