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Monday
Mar102008
Father of "Youtube Fight" Teen, Jailed
Monday, March 10, 2008 at 7:22AM
Spencer Thomas, 43, Ossining activist and father of Von Thomas, is in jail on $7,500 bail. He is accused of possessing the drug PCP, also known as angel dust. His son, Von Thomas was one of four teens accused of the gang assault beating of an 18-year-old Ossining High School student which was videotaped and posted on Youtube.
Spencer Thomas was arrested on March 8th at about 2am outside Anthony's Sports Bar in Ossining. He attracted the attention of the police because he was parked "crookedly" taking up two parking spots with his Land Rover SUV. He was in the company of a 20-year-old woman when the police approached him. The police said they found a partially lit cigarette containing PCP, a baggie containing a substance believed to contain PCP, and seven plastic bags in his jacket containing drug residue.
The woman was released to her mother without being charged. Thomas was charged with fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a felony. He is being held on $7,500 bail at the Westchester County jail in Valhalla pending his next hearing Tuesday in Ossining Village Court.
Thomas, a well-known activist in Ossining, was arrested just hours before he was supposed attend an annual basketball tournament which he co-organized with Martin McDonald, Ossining High School faculty adviser for Project Earthquake, a tutoring and mentoring program for black male high school students. The basketball tournament was to feature Ossining High School graduates against a squad of famed streetball players known as Ball 4 Real. A sign at the door said the event was canceled but did not give a reason. Martin McDonald was not available for comment. Two people who answered the phone at Thomas' home also declined comment.
The annual tournament was organized in memory of three residents who were killed, including a man shot by police in 1998 after he pointed a loaded gun at them during a chase. In 2005, Thomas organized a "Stop Police Brutality Rally," accusing officers of brutalizing him and other village residents. He had been arrested twice that year on drug charges.
Spencer Thomas was arrested on March 8th at about 2am outside Anthony's Sports Bar in Ossining. He attracted the attention of the police because he was parked "crookedly" taking up two parking spots with his Land Rover SUV. He was in the company of a 20-year-old woman when the police approached him. The police said they found a partially lit cigarette containing PCP, a baggie containing a substance believed to contain PCP, and seven plastic bags in his jacket containing drug residue.
"Mr. Thomas was unable to articulate any answers to simple questions asked by this officer," the police report states. "He displayed glassy bloodshot eyes, impaired motor skills and appeared incoherent and he was unable to comply with simple commands given by this officer."
The woman was released to her mother without being charged. Thomas was charged with fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a felony. He is being held on $7,500 bail at the Westchester County jail in Valhalla pending his next hearing Tuesday in Ossining Village Court.
Thomas, a well-known activist in Ossining, was arrested just hours before he was supposed attend an annual basketball tournament which he co-organized with Martin McDonald, Ossining High School faculty adviser for Project Earthquake, a tutoring and mentoring program for black male high school students. The basketball tournament was to feature Ossining High School graduates against a squad of famed streetball players known as Ball 4 Real. A sign at the door said the event was canceled but did not give a reason. Martin McDonald was not available for comment. Two people who answered the phone at Thomas' home also declined comment.
The annual tournament was organized in memory of three residents who were killed, including a man shot by police in 1998 after he pointed a loaded gun at them during a chase. In 2005, Thomas organized a "Stop Police Brutality Rally," accusing officers of brutalizing him and other village residents. He had been arrested twice that year on drug charges.
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