'Jena Six' defendant accused of assault in Texas

DENTON, Texas (AP) - A "Jena Six" defendant has been released on bail today after his arrest on an assault charge after a fight with a fellow student at his new suburban Dallas high school. Nineteen-year-old Bryant R. Purvis is now living in the Dallas area. He was freed from the Denton County jail today after he was charged with assault causing bodily injury. The Class A misdemeanor is punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $4,000 fine. Purvis mother, Tina Jones, says her son got into an altercation with another student at Hebron High School yesterday after he was told the student had vandalized his car the night before. Purvis was one six black Jena High School students initially charged with attempted murder in a December 2006 assault on white student Justin Barker at the school. Soon after Purvis arrest, Jones said she sent him to live with his uncle, Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Jason Hatcher, so he could stay out of trouble and out of the limelight. (© NBC 10/FOX 14 News, All rights reserved.)