Suns F Josh Jackson charged with resisting arrest and escape in Florida

Phoenix Suns forward Josh Jackson was arrested in Miami Gardens, Fla., and charged with resisting arrest and escape while attending the Rolling Loud music festival on Friday, May 10.

Miami-Dade County police records show that Joshua O’Neal Jackson, born Feb. 10, 1997, was arrested on a felony charge of escape with a misdemeanor for resisting an officer’s arrest without violence. Jackson posted a $1,000 bond on Saturday.

He was assigned an arraignment hearing date of June 10.

Andy Slater of 640 The Hurricane in Miami first reported the arrest.

Jackson attempted to enter a VIP area at the music festival at Hard Rock Stadium multiple times without a pass and was turned away by an officer multiple times. He was handcuffed and taken away from the crowd. Jackson sat on a golf cart as directed by an officer. He attempted to walk away and after being told to sit back down “turned and ran away,” losing the officer after a foot chase.

He was apprehended again by backup police.

The Suns said Monday that they are aware of the report and are still gathering information.

Jackson averaged 11.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 2018-19, his second NBA season. The fourth overall pick in 2017 averaged 13.1 points and 4.6 rebounds his rookie year.

For his career, Jackson has shot just 42% and struggled to acclimate under coaches Earl Watson, who was fired three games into 2017-18, interim Jay Triano and Igor Kokoskov.

The forward has struggled to stay out of the news off the court. During his single season in college at Kansas, he pled not guilty to misdemeanor property damage after being charged in 2017 for allegedly kicking a door and tail light of a car driven by a KU women’s basketball player.

He was also hit with a traffic violation during college that led to a one-game suspension. Jackson backed into a parked car on campus and left the scene without leaving his information. He was cited for “duty upon striking an unattended vehicle, inattentive driving and improper backing.”

With the Suns, Jackson was fined $20,000 by the NBA team this past year after he skipped a team-sponsored autograph signing this season.

The second-year forward was supposed to sign autographs at the Fry’s grocery store on 20th Street and Camelback Road in February but never showed up. Fans who waited out Jackson were instead greeted by Suns interim general manager James Jones, who told people Jackson wasn’t showing up.

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