Jacob Blake Makes 1st Court Appearance Via Zoom After Police-Involved Shooting & Hospitalization

Jacob Blake Makes 1st Court Appearance Via Zoom After Police-Involved Shooting & Hospitalization

Jacob Blake appeared in court via Zoom for the first time on Friday (September 4). Lying in his hospital bed, Jacob Blake and his attorney Patrick Cafferty could be seen inside a hospital room responding to the inquiries and statements made by the presiding judge, Loren Keating.

This virtual court appearance was unrelated to the August 23 shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin that hospitalized Jacob Blake and left him paralyzed from the waist down. Instead, it was concerning a misdemeanor criminal trespass and disorderly conduct charge and a felony charge of third-degree sexual assault.

Blake was reportedly accused of sexual assault by a female who says he entered a residence without permission. This individual claims that Blake had physically assaulted her several times within the last eight years but she reportedly surrendered a temporary restraining order against him.

During the Zoom appearance, Blake’s attorney Patrick Cafferty pled not guilty to the charges against his client that were filed in July. The alleged incident reportedly occurred on May 3.

Judge Loren Keating accepted the suggestion of a $10,000 signature bond and also accepted a cash amount of $500 that had already been paid toward bail. The judge ruled that  Blake can only leave the state of Wisconsin for medical treatment. A second court appearance is set for October 21 and the subsequent trial for the case will begin in November. Blake could be sentenced to 10 years in jail along with a fine of $25,000 if he is convicted of the assault charge.

At the same time, the officers involved in last month’s shooting, witnessed by Blake’s three young children were placed on administrative leave. No hearings have been announced regarding the incident as the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation claims Blake admitted he was in possession of a knife. The now-viral video of the incident, however, does not show him aiming anything at the officers.