CARROLLTON, Texas -- A teenager who was charged in the Jena 6 case was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a fellow student in Carrollton on Wednesday morning.
Bryant Purvis faces a misdemeanor assault charge.
Purvis is one of six black students who were accused of beating a white student in Louisiana. Many people questioned the severity of the attempted murder charges the teenagers faced, calling it racism.
Purvis, a 19-year-old senior, recently moved to Carrollton to concentrate on his studies and basketball. Tina Jones, Purvis? mother, said Purvis beat up a student after he was told the student had slashed his tires the night before.
"I wish he could just get in a place where he could walk away from the situation," Jones said of her son. "I understand he gets frustrated. But he needed to walk away from this situation, being that he's already in a situation. It's very frustrating and upsetting to have to go through so much."
Purvis' car, with a Louisiana license tag and deflated tires, was still sitting in the school's parking lot Wednesday night.
In November, Purvis pleaded not guilty to second-degree aggravated battery and conspiracy in the racially charged Jenna 6 case, which drew national attention.
Classmates said Purvis came to Texas to stay out of trouble and the spotlight.
Purvis came to Carrollton to live with his uncle, Dallas Cowboys defensive end Jason Hatcher. Hatcher said he has no comment on his nephew's arrest.
Purvis faces a charge of aggravated second-degree battery. He was released from the Denton County jail on $1,000 bond Thursday morning.