Post by KC on Aug 16, 2006 23:30:21 GMT -5
August 17, 2006 - A former Pine Bluff police officer avoided prison Tuesday by pleading guilty to a reduced charge stemming from a 2005 incident that occurred when he was on duty.
Circuit Judge Rob Wyatt Jr. sentenced Officer John Eugene “Dusty” Jones, 46, to five years probation after Jones entered a plea of guilty to third-degree sexual assault, a felony, in an agreement worked out by attorneys from the Robinson Law Firm, who represented Jones, and prosecutors.
In return for the guilty plea, the state dismissed a kidnapping charge that had been filed against Jones, who will be required to register as a sex offender and was ordered to have no contact with the female victim of the incident.
“We’ve very happy with the conviction because this case was one that would have presented some serious issues for the jury to consider,” said Deputy Prosecutor Karres Manning, who represented the state during the court hearing. “He will never be a police officer again and will be a registered sex offender from now on.”
Jones, who had been a police officer from July 2, 2003, until he was fired by former chief Daniel Moses on March 18, 2005, was accused of sexually assaulting a woman he had arrested on a misdemeanor warrant on March 15.
He had pleaded innocent to the charges and had been scheduled for trial Tuesday.
Police said the investigation that led to the filing of charges against Jones began when the female victim filed a complaint with the Office of Professional Standards.
She said Jones arrested her at work on an outstanding warrant, then took her to court, where she met with a judge and was released. She said after court she asked Jones to give her a ride back to work and he agreed, and she was handcuffed with her hands in front of her.
The woman said the two got into an elevator, and while riding down, “Officer Jones reportedly insinuated she owed him something for not going to jail,” Lt. Bob Rawlinson said last year, adding that Jones also reportedly made sexually related comments toward the woman while the two were walking across the police parking lot.
He said Jones drove the woman to her house, where he again allegedly made sexual suggestions to the woman, and, after leaving the house, drove to a secluded part of the Cotton Belt railroad yard, where she was sexually assaulted.
“Based on the facts, he could be found guilty of sexual assault in the third-degree,” attorneys Bryan Achorn and Luke Zakrzewski, who represented Jones, said in court Tuesday before Wyatt imposed sentence.
The female victim has also filed a civil lawsuit against Jones, who said he understood that entering a guilty plea to the criminal charge could affect that case.
www.pbcommercial.com/articles/2006/08/16/news/news4.txt
Circuit Judge Rob Wyatt Jr. sentenced Officer John Eugene “Dusty” Jones, 46, to five years probation after Jones entered a plea of guilty to third-degree sexual assault, a felony, in an agreement worked out by attorneys from the Robinson Law Firm, who represented Jones, and prosecutors.
In return for the guilty plea, the state dismissed a kidnapping charge that had been filed against Jones, who will be required to register as a sex offender and was ordered to have no contact with the female victim of the incident.
“We’ve very happy with the conviction because this case was one that would have presented some serious issues for the jury to consider,” said Deputy Prosecutor Karres Manning, who represented the state during the court hearing. “He will never be a police officer again and will be a registered sex offender from now on.”
Jones, who had been a police officer from July 2, 2003, until he was fired by former chief Daniel Moses on March 18, 2005, was accused of sexually assaulting a woman he had arrested on a misdemeanor warrant on March 15.
He had pleaded innocent to the charges and had been scheduled for trial Tuesday.
Police said the investigation that led to the filing of charges against Jones began when the female victim filed a complaint with the Office of Professional Standards.
She said Jones arrested her at work on an outstanding warrant, then took her to court, where she met with a judge and was released. She said after court she asked Jones to give her a ride back to work and he agreed, and she was handcuffed with her hands in front of her.
The woman said the two got into an elevator, and while riding down, “Officer Jones reportedly insinuated she owed him something for not going to jail,” Lt. Bob Rawlinson said last year, adding that Jones also reportedly made sexually related comments toward the woman while the two were walking across the police parking lot.
He said Jones drove the woman to her house, where he again allegedly made sexual suggestions to the woman, and, after leaving the house, drove to a secluded part of the Cotton Belt railroad yard, where she was sexually assaulted.
“Based on the facts, he could be found guilty of sexual assault in the third-degree,” attorneys Bryan Achorn and Luke Zakrzewski, who represented Jones, said in court Tuesday before Wyatt imposed sentence.
The female victim has also filed a civil lawsuit against Jones, who said he understood that entering a guilty plea to the criminal charge could affect that case.
www.pbcommercial.com/articles/2006/08/16/news/news4.txt
