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March 19, 2008

Defense takes stage in smoke-shop trial

A Superior Court judge has upheld all except one of the charges against seven Narragansett Indians accused of fighting with the police.

After the prosecution rested its case, Judge Susan McGuirl dismissed an assault charge against Thawn Harris, a tribal conservation officer who was accused in connection with a scuffle that took place in 2003 when the state police raided a tribal smoke shop.

For its first witness, the defense plans to call state trooper Kenneth Jones. A jury hearing a civil suit in March 2005 concluded that Jones had used excessive force in arresting tribe member Adam Jennings during the raid. But five months later, a judge overturned the sentence, saying Jones had been justified in the amount of force used to subdue Jennings, whose ankle was broken during the raid.

Extra: See photos, video, and primary source documents from 2003 raid on projo.com

-- projo.com staff writer Brandie M. Jefferson, with reports from Journal staff writer Katie Mulvaney

Posted by Brandie Jefferson  at 2:50 PM | Permalink

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