Suspect In Rape And Murder Of Megan Sharpton Is Arrested- Donnie Frank Jones In Custody For Felony Gun Possession
Donnie Frank Jones, Jr, 37, of Tullahoma, TN was arrested this afternoon after a search warrant at his home revealed the convicted felon was in possession of a firearm. The elementary school which is also on Bel Air Drive, was in lockdown this afternoon during the search.
Jones is the prime suspect in the brutal murder of Megan Sharpton, and is linked to her death via a CODIS match as previously reported on BOC.
Details are still emerging, check back to www.blinkoncrime.com for updates.
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SNIP.
a federal indictment through the ATF.
***************************
So even if (hypothetically) someone bailed him out,
he’d be back in federal custody, right?
According to the ADA in Coffee County, yes. He is aware he is about to face that indictment as well.
B
How was everything at the court house this morning, Tullahoma? I hope all was peaceful and meaningful.
Someone asked about the media coverage. I’m not sure why the local media is not all over this case. It’s time for them to decide to make a difference.
Here’s what the Tullahoma News says about today’s court happenings:
http://www.tullahomanews.com/?p=8489
No mention of how many members of the community were in attendance or how many Megan T-shirts were on display.
No news? What’s up with that? I see a tweet by a reporter about the lowered bail, but the page is gone. Was there at turn out at the courthouse in support of Megan’s family and justice? No news coverage, that’s very weird.
This is the Tullahoma News coverage of the events of today: http://www.tullahomanews.com/?p=8489
I know this is not Christine Sheddy’s thread but since she has been brought up often I thought it would be ok to ask. Blink, how are her beautiful boys doing?
They are fantastic- along with big sister. Mom Mom and Pop are doing an amazing job.
B
Word Girl…I asked about media coverage the other day. I realize there are countless murders in the US each and every day. BUT given the circumstances of this brutal crime, the fact that the accused has such an unbelievable background, including having married a prison guard, the Mom’s relentless fight for justice and the love and support of the community, I would think the media would be on this like white on rice. The continuous coverage of this case could help form the foundation for many other small communities to find the strength to rally behind innocent victims’ families, have their voices heard and cleanup the trash!!! Prayers and support for Megan’s family and friends…
This might be late due to the hour of moderation, but more of DJ’s record, where the weapon was located (and how DJ alerted the Sheriff of his ownership), the fact the rifle was bought by NJ, and…the count on his felonies–21.
http://www.tullahomanews.com/?p=8489
I suppose if no bail bonding agency in the area would touch his bond, then the amount does not matter. This is his penality for being the criminal that he is. I was afraid that someone might want to make the bond at that low amount. IMO this was tatamount to the court giving in to a defense argument to make it easier for DJ to get out of jail.
This guy needs to be kept right where he is. Off the street and unable to harm anyone else.
If the ATF is ready for an indictment, it has to be alcohol or firearms related. If convicted in federal court, there will be no parole and the entire sentence will be served.
Where is the DA on this regarding the murder of Megan? I hope he is not sitting back and doing nothing since he knows of the impending federal case. This young woman and her family need to be given some resolution to the crime and the perp(s) brought to justice.
I share that concern on the Federal matter taking initial precedence. It is my understanding that there are a few items still being tested at TBI and when they come back, regardless of result, he plans to seek an indictment. I do not agree since I know what the items are and I don’t feel they are necessary “case in chief” things that would change the outcome of an indictment in the first place AND is still part of that plea deal mentality. Donnie Jones is not going to be cutting any deals, period.
B
The Eighth Amendment to the US Constitution, and the Tennessee Constitution in non-capital cases, both make it unconstitutional to impose excessive bail. If the judge violates these Constitutional provisions, you could lose the charges and/or potentially have evidence collected from the bad guy while in custody excluded. Lowering it to $100,000 on a weapons charge seems fair to me and probably required by the law. Judges get criticized all the time for following the law. I imagine it was initially set too high just to make sure he didn’t quickly get out before the state had its ducks in a row. If he were to be just about to get out, they could just quickly charge him with murder and it would be moot. The potential federal charge would also make it moot if true.
Agreed, there is no standard, and the reg bail on that charge is $10K. The judge did what he could to keep it high enough to still make it difficult, low enough to keep it “legal”.
Everyone see how effed it is to have a man with 21 felony convictions over 20 plus years ( and keep in mind, we do not know what his juvie record is) repeatedly given sentencing break after break after break.
In CA he would have been in prison for life like 15 years ago.
I agree that judges get beat downs sometimes when they are just following statute- I also believe they need stronger accountability wrt to accepting plea deals.
B
TN and I’m sure other states work that way for one reason, money. They make money off criminals on probation. Hes probaly been on some form of probation for that many uears, no telling how much money hes paid in. And then he gets to stay out and commit more crimes, get more probation so the state can make more money. Sad.
Twenty-one felony convictions over a twenty year period is a lot of crime. It would be interesting to find each of those convictions and determine how much of his time he actually served. This guy must have violated parole many times.
The people are going to have to take steps to force legislation that makes all juvinile records to be unsealed when a felony is committed.
A traffic ticket or other misdemeanor charge that does not involve an assault, should not be considered.
I do not believe in the swinging door method of dealing with criminals. Texas at one time had a three strikes and your out law regarding felonys. Locking a career criminal up for forty years is not the solution and it costs the taxpayers about 25K per year to do it. IMO if a criminal has a crime or group of crimes that exceed a threshold, they should simply be put to sleep.
Well now, it appears we bridge the gap of old school law , lol.
I agree and I know that is not a popular or contemporary position. It is how I feel, considering I spend upwards of 12 hours a day in this “space” and the majority of the time I learn that the last crime these dregs commit that takes a life of a baby, or a daughter, sister, Mother, could have been avoided if their criminal or mental pasts were dealt with in that matter.
You know what I NEVER hear? “Wow, I never saw that coming from “so and so”. Never.
B
RE
A Texas Grandfather says:
October 6, 2012 at 3:12 pm
Twenty-one felony convictions over a twenty year period is a lot of crime. It would be interesting to find each of those convictions and determine how much of his time he actually served. This guy must have violated parole many times.
The people are going to have to take steps to force legislation that makes all juvenile records to be unsealed when a felony is committed.
A traffic ticket or other misdemeanor charge that does not involve an assault, should not be considered.
I do not believe in the swinging door method of dealing with criminals. Texas at one time had a three strikes and your out law regarding felonys. Locking a career criminal up for forty years is not the solution and it costs the taxpayers about 25K per year to do it. IMO if a criminal has a crime or group of crimes that exceed a threshold, they should simply be put to sleep.
Well now, it appears we bridge the gap of old school law , lol.
I agree and I know that is not a popular or contemporary position. It is how I feel, considering I spend upwards of 12 hours a day in this “space” and the majority of the time I learn that the last crime these dregs commit that takes a life of a baby, or a daughter, sister, Mother, could have been avoided if their criminal or mental pasts were dealt with in that matter.
You know what I NEVER hear? “Wow, I never saw that coming from “so and so”. Never.
B
—-
Sharing a different perspective:
Each person and case must be looked at independently- having said thatas you both know I do not agree with this stance-
Juvenile records should not be unsealed and although you work 12 hours a day Blink encountering the cases where a person does or MAY or MAY Not have had a juvenile record I and many others have worked long hours with those who have the same juvi records and try their best to walk the straight and narrow-
Some faulter later in life due to their economic status stealing dealing or other drug issues or domestic issues -
Unsealing juvenile records can prevent good kids from getting a fair defense and good adults who were once “bad” not getting a good defense or tainting the juries outlook on them which would sway them to convict when otherwise they wouldnt.
Opening juvenile records can also prevent good adults from joining the military or getting good jobs-
And certainly all felonies do not constitute the death penalty-
Blink you come from a good home good parents good neighborhood TGF you come from a different time- perhaps this is why my POV is different IDK
Poor Kids who steal cars or beat or kill their abusive parents or start fires that result in major money lost or a accidental loss of life or so on- do not necessarily deserve to be judged by those once acts- many once removed from the family or the bad neighborhood as children or move on to better things as adults etc have no other issues
Nor do children or adolescents mental records deserve to be used against them in court or later in life because in retrospect anything can be seen as a sign of things to come- and if they have a file and were released then the doctors felt they were not a risk- and many are in fact cured and the “newest” crime has nothing to do with what they may or may not have been treated for back when they were kids.
Blink As for what you never hear- wow i never seen that coming-
I hear you but there have been lots of cases of otherwise “normal” noncriminal persons committing crimes where neighbors teachers friends etc never saw it coming
and I would just like to point out that many times the only persons who would be “netted” in releasing juvi records are not necessarily the worst of the worst but just the poorest of the poor who could not afford the best representation- for there have been many well to do juveniles who slip thru the cracks and get their cases thrown out of court- who go on to commit horrible atrocities.
Hindsight is always 20/20 and its easy to say there were signs- but retrospect gives us that ability- not living in the present where we should all be judged by our actions of today- not those of yesterday and certainly not those that MIGHT happen tomorrow-
Think Minority Report- in reverse- seriously if the kid once did something he/she may have the propensity to do it tomorrow so lets give em all the death penalty now and save some money and I told you sos
Thanks for letting me share a different perspective
With Respect M3
Mom 3.0-
I never said I thought juvie records should be unsealed, ever. I do not believe they should, nor would I support such an initiative.
HOWEVER, I definitely think they should be available to LE when investigating cases or the suspects themselves. I am adamant on this issue, I would lobby for it tomorrow. We AGREE that cases should be based on individuals, but access should be absolute based on certain present markers. I begrudgingly admit that I am precluded from referencing any I studied recently, although it has cemented my opinion.
I feel like I was pretty specific in my career criminal stance, and I know you probably do not agree with that either, and that is ok, that is why legislation should take years and thousands of voices in this greatest of countries.
Putting money where my mouth is on this one. I realize I will be the Saturday night live of readers, ok with that.
When I was in HS, my friend group included a dude whose Dad had a dad with a Hostess route, truck and all.
One night, as a prank, we snuck out out in the wee hours, drove his truck all over town and delivered tasty treats all over town. Mailboxes, fronts of cars, mashed on lawns, all late night grub for critters or pets.
His Dad knew immediately it was us. He could have called police, we would have been arrested for GTA, and likely stealing the inventory. As I sit here right now, I will tell you that although my Uncle was the chief of police in our town, my parents would absolutely never have sought any sort of favor, nor would it have been offered. It is not lost on me that my future could have been hugely altered.
But Mom3.0, we are not talking about twinkie truck stealing pranksters. Or the young girl with good parentage ( btw, I could clog this blog with felons and worse with seemingly good parents).
I am talking about the writing on the wall, that continues until it ends in the worst possible victim of an innocent.
I do not proclaim to have the answer, but if I were to research only the cases I have personally worked on, studied or even have a cursory knowledge of, it cannot be denied that in the general case file, the ultimate crime was foreshadowed in some way. How do we not protect those in harm’s way which the court seems compromised to do it’s job?
Do we not have that obligation? Most affectionately and respectfully-
B
@ Texas Grandfather “IMO if a criminal has a crime or group of crimes that exceed a threshold, they should simply be put to sleep.”
X 2!
In the last hundred years of civilized society, the least humane of our society have been spared what otherwise would have been certain death by vigilantes or a less tolerant justice system. You can’t domesticate a career criminal.
It is just true. Does not make it right, does not it anything but true.
B
I drove by the courthouse on my way to work around 10:30 a.m. yesterday and there were still quite a few people outside. I’m sure there were a lot more at 9 a.m. when court began. Looked like there was a good turnout.
thank you j2380. I was hoping to hear how it all went.
In my grandfathers time, the community would simply find the criminal and take him somewhere and remove him from the planet. If anyone asked what happened to the criminal, the answer was “well I heard that he got tired of our community and headed West”. That was possible in those days so no one would spend time looking for the person.
My grandfather was born in 1844 and fought in the Civil War. Times have changed and society has become a little more humane towards criminal activity. In the 20th century the idea that rehabilitation for criminals was possible was promulgated. The problem is that the idea may be true for about 10% of the criminals, but those that continue to engage in that activity cannot be rehabilitated.
ATG- I have to be the monitor of the program and make sure everyone knows that nobody is advocating vigliantism . You were not, and we are all a product of our proud past, it comes with the name on the door
B
Mom3.0
While I believe that we should unseal criminal records for juvinials who commit an adult felony or an adult who has a prior record, this does not have to be public information. This can be limited to LE and the courts including juries in specific cases.
This attitude of “oh poor little wasted child of a non-funtional family is absolute foolishness IMO. Children know right from wrong at an early age. It is the adults that allow them to get away with what some do. Adults who refuse to be parents.
Everyone probably has a story similar to the one Blink told. The point is there was no meanness in the activity even though they technically committed a major crime. Apparently they were lucky and were not arrested. She didn’t state that restitution was made for the lost inventory. I would think that mom and dad would have made arrangements to pay for some of it.
Those are not the type of things that are important in juvinile crime. If many such incidents took place over a period of time,those are indicators of a lack of respect for the law and that would be important.
I lived as a child through the Great Depression when many were out of work and many others had some work with little pay. Poor had to do with your mental attitude and not the condition of one’s bank account or your wallet.
Read the beattitudes in the New Testiment. One of them is: “Blessed are the poor in Spirit for they shall inherit the earth”. This tells me that it was known in those times that some could not progress beyond their present life on this planet.
The past is a strong predictor of the future.
It’s true. Undeniably so if you look at the evolution of our culture.
Any person who commits a violent act has to be monitored and prove himself not a danger any longer.
Violence escalates and is predictable. I think Gavin deBecker gives a very good account of how this happens in his many books on violence.
Juvenile records need to remain open to the FBI, LE, military, so that those young “errors” (perhaps) or “socio-psychopathic” acts (not excluding the possibility) can be assessed to determine risk to the community–as well as for those who must supervise them.
We don’t have the luxury to ignore a juvenile’s violent, felony convictions. He may have changed and become a great person or maybe not.
Mom 3.0, I’m a Mom, too, and I know (too well) what happens with juvenile offenders. That’s why they are called juveniles. They might deserve a chance to prove themselves worthy of this society and it would not be right to deny them that chance. We should acknowledge that this is also a risk on society’s part.
It’s interesting that the police chief said he had known DJ for 25 years. I’m just guessing that might have been when he became a juvenile offender.
Thank you for sharing all that with us Blink-
Before I respond I would first like to again offer my condolences to Megans loved ones. I too would like to take take a moment to apologize to Megans Mother, family and friends, For I do not want to hijack Megans thread,in any way. I hope they do not take offense to our discussions.
-
Blink I would like to clarify the point that my earlier post was not directly related to Donnie Jones and his possible juvenile record-.
Having said that- It is my understanding that he is from a small town and whether or not his juvi records are unsealed or not has no bearing- he had many convictions and served time as an adult and escaped etc So LE in the town was already aware of his past- and it has even been said that he may have been a snitch working with police -
Sadly none of this knowledge helped LE work any of those cases well enough to keep him behind bars.
Doesnt this sad fact help to illustrate that LE having the persons past in front of them- that kind of knowledge available to them when investigating cases or the suspects themselves wouldnt help them to better investigate Blink?
You wrote:
I never said I thought juvie records should be unsealed, ever. I do not believe they should, nor would I support such an initiative.
___ Im sorry I misunderstood your agreement to TGFs post Blink- I read it as you were agreeing entirely to include this part:
“The people are going to have to take steps to force legislation that makes all juvenile records to be unsealed when a felony is committed.”
I am happy to know that you would never support such an initiative.
You went on to write:
HOWEVER, I definitely think they should be available to LE when investigating cases or the suspects themselves. I am adamant on this issue, I would lobby for it tomorrow.We AGREE that cases should be based on individuals, but access should be absolute based on certain present markers.
-Blink I understand why you feel this way based on your work but which childs file should be made available and what specific files? those including mental health treatments? and who would decide who was a suspect and who is not and couldnt this be described as a fishing expedition?
Many children and adolescent and adults records may meet certain “markers” Blink- who decides which markers to focus upon and which ones to disregard?
What if police are wrong on their theory of the crime, what if for instance they wrongfully believe the crime to be part of a Satanic ritual- and therefore all the childrens files who show an interest in Wicca or the Occult or scary movies are singled out?
Then LE have inadvertently just singled outa bunch of probably innocent “suspects” based on the wrong criteria.
Blink you were pretty specific on your career criminal stance – and I do agree with you up to a certain point- but What is your definition of a career criminal?
To me there is a big difference between a thief and a person who has drug charges and a cold blooded killer or pedo== meaning there are huge differences between each “career criminal” and the felonies which they may have committed or may in fact been wrongfully found guilty of committing-
Blink I so appreciate you sharing your teenage escapades and thank you for admitting your future could have been hugely altered, had you or your friends been arrested-
You do realize had any of those neighbors w/mailboxes come forward you could have been charged with much more than GTA – possibly a federal crime as tampering with mail service is FC… but still the courts probably would have been more lenient in your sentence than that of your friends– regardless of your parents reluctance in asking for favors- based solely on your uncles career and your upbringing right- I mean your defense team surely would have used all to your benefit ?
It all depends on how LE looks at it how the DA wants to move forward – How good your lawyer is-etc
Blink you wrote:
But Mom3.0, we are not talking about twinkie truck stealing pranksters.
– I understand Blink- but had you and your friends been arrested and had you been convicted which would then result in juvi records of this “prank” then if God forbid you or one of your friends grew up to commit a crime say Murder – although lets say in selfdefense but LE s trying to prove otherwise- or you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time and although innocent someone fingered you as the culprit…than that one time Prank, if Juvi records were unsealed could go to show you or your friends “malicious” disregard for safety -property- LE and the law – and it could paint you as “career criminals” based on the # of felonies-GTA- theft of baked goods vandalism resulting in monetary damages Federal crimes and so one…
It certainly then wouldnt be seen as a mere prank- but a precursor to things to come possibly the writing on the wall as it were
All Im saying is It all can be subjective -therefore it is a slippery slope…. especially when you are advocating giving mere humans who are capable of mistakes and biases= LEO -the ability to delve into your childhood past inorder to determine which persons are “suspects” and which files should be opened to include mental health records inorder to investigate based on what they consider the right set of “markers”
Blink thanks for letting me share my thoughts and thank you for sharing yours I agree legislation should take years and thousands of voices in this greatest of countries.
With the greatest respect
AJMO
Peace to you my friend
M3
Blink FYI its me Mom3.0 even though my quilt is blue-
RE
A Texas Grandfather says:
October 6, 2012 at 10:44 pm
Hiya TGF- thank you for sharing your perspective with me- even though I disagree with you I respect your right to your opinion and your right to voice it.- i am not trying to change your mind I am only sharing a different opinion-
You wrote;
Mom3.0
While I believe that we should unseal criminal records for juvinials who commit an adult felony or an adult who has a prior record, this does not have to be public information. This can be limited to LE and the courts including juries in specific cases.
–
I am happy to hear you are not advocating that juvenile records become public-
I understand why you believe this would be a good thing for LE the courts and juries to be aware of- but TGF there are many crimes that result in felony convictions and having a prior record as a juvenile certainly does not constitute an unsealing of the files- certainly not to juries and again LE is capable of biases and wrong theories etc-
to open a juvenile record would subject people to scrutiny they may not be “worthy” of- there is a reason why these records are sealed it is so they are not forever judged by the once bad acts or bad defenses of their childhoods and many of their crimes even violent crimes have a set of extenuating circumstances-
For instance many children are forced into a life of crime by their parents- they are forced to be drug mules or thieves- many kids are forced into crime by their early age inductions into gangs-
and still others commit patricide because of the horrible abuses they are subjected to-
Some parents or family members make the children do the crimes or confess to the crimes because they think as minors they will get lighter sentences so they feel justified in using their children in this way– sometimes none of this information makes into court due to poor defenses or due to the child keeping it secret out of fear
To hold these kids juvenile records or mental health records against them later in life would be wrong IMO
TGF you wrote:
This attitude of “oh poor little wasted child of a non-funtional family is absolute foolishness IMO. Children know right from wrong at an early age. It is the adults that allow them to get away with what some do. Adults who refuse to be parents.
–
I agree sometimes an adults horrible childhood is used as an means to excuse a crime- but this “sob story” is usually used by a defense when an adult is accused or found guilty of a horrible atrocity- it isnt used by the prosecution…
Some children are taught right from wrong… TGF some sadly are not- some are taught the exact opposite and are used as I stated above, And still others have no parents to teach them TGF
You wrote:
Everyone probably has a story similar to the one Blink told.
Yes youre probably right- but in Blinks story the father did not hold his son or his friends accountable did he?- at least not with the law- so in essence The man “allowed” them to get away with what they did- which you lamented about earlier- and surely Blink and her friends as teenagers- knew right from wrong- correct-?
So what makes you feel the need to lessen the seriousness of Blinks teenage “prank” that would have resulted in many charges to include felonies if arrested and prosecuted to the full extent of the law- vs those crimes or prior records of unknown juveniles?
TGF you wrote:
The point is there was no meanness in the activity even though they technically committed a major crime.
TGF Im sorry but your letting the fact that you know and love Blink get in the way- You are projecting You are human the same as LEO-
How do you know there was no “meanness” in the hearts or minds of Blink and her friends- Take Blink out of it- If we were to unseal a juveniles record and read that he/she was convicted of GTA to include major vandalism and theft of food- not for hunger but for maliciousness to deface property- to potentially harm beloved pets eating chocodiles and twinkies to include a federal crime of tampering w/ a mail box… wouldnt you conclude the perps were “mean” and showed a total disregard for the law, LEO, their neighbors, their parents – and the publics safety?
You wrote:
Apparently they were lucky and were not arrested.
Yes she was lucky so were her friends- many juveniles pulling “pranks” are not so lucky and have the book thrown at them-
So should we hold them accountable for life and unseal their juvenile records for crimes they have already paid for- just to further their bad “luck”?
You wrote:
She didn’t state that restitution was made for the lost inventory. I would think that mom and dad would have made arrangements to pay for some of it.
Many kids parents cant pay restitution nor can they pay for a good defense lawyer- TGF many kids dont have good parents or proper defenses which would result in lenient sentences to include restitution instead of jail time but hey thats just their bad luck right?
You wrote:
Those are not the type of things that are important in juvinile crime. If many such incidents took place over a period of time,those are indicators of a lack of respect for the law and that would be important.
TGF respectfully who are you to decide what is important and what is not in regards to a juveniles crimes?- BTW in many neighborhoods “pranks” are never just pranks they are simply crimes with no benefit of the doubt-
TGF it isnt just the # of crimes that are committed that may show a lack of respect – and BTW LEO although a respectable career choice one in which lends our respect by the mere sight of a badge- does not mean every cop is respectable– respect is earned and learned and some of these kids who have had bad experiences with the courts or with LE tend not to trust or respect the law, should we fault them or LE for that?
You wrote:
I lived as a child through the Great Depression when many were out of work and many others had some work with little pay. Poor had to do with your mental attitude and not the condition of one’s bank account or your wallet.
–I understand that TGF- but many are poor and because of it result to crime –think of the story of Henri Young portrayed by Kevin Bacon in the movie “Murder In The First” he stole 5 dollars to feed himself and his sister but because the store was attached to a post office he was convicted of a federal crime- and his bad luck landed him in prison where he ended up killing someone
Sometimes our prior records dont show the truth of the matter or any of the extenuating circumstances.
You wrote:
Read the beattitudes in the New Testiment. One of them is: “Blessed are the poor in Spirit for they shall inherit the earth”. This tells me that it was known in those times that some could not progress beyond their present life on this planet.
– excuse me TGF but are you implying poor people who commit crimes deserve not to go to Heaven? I hope not
Dearest TGF, I am very familiar with the “Beatitudes” It seems you may want to go back and read them for yourself, as the Beatitude you sited actually is the first and reads :
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3).
It is The meek who shall inherit the Earth TGF
“Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth”(Matthew 5:5)
Thanks again TGF
PS
I leave you all with The Beatitude which I think brings us back to the reason we are all here-
for Megan for her Mom and for all those who love her and miss her
“Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:5)
Peace To All
AJMO
My apologies
That Should have read:
“Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.”
(Matthew 5:4)
Violent murderers are punished accordingly in America in my opinion. Sometimes there are murderers that you feel deserve to be put to death and although existing is not living, it costs money to keep these people alive in prison and they serve no purpose to society but it`s an opinion that is divided and all opinions to be respected.
Rapists on the other hand are not punished accordingly in my opinion.
Rape is a terrible,terrible crime and violent rapists especially should be locked up and for good. Same goes for paedophiles, society has no tolerence for this disgusting behaviour and second chances for these animals too often lead to further poor innocents suffering at the their hands. There is never a reasonable excuse to turn these people loose again at any time. Zero tolerence is a must.
Liam says:
October 7, 2012 at 9:41 am
Violent murderers are punished accordingly in America in my opinion. Sometimes there are murderers that you feel deserve to be put to death and although existing is not living, it costs money to keep these people alive in prison and they serve no purpose to society but it`s an opinion that is divided and all opinions to be respected.
Rapists on the other hand are not punished accordingly in my opinion.
Rape is a terrible,terrible crime and violent rapists especially should be locked up and for good. Same goes for paedophiles, society has no tolerence for this disgusting behaviour and second chances for these animals too often lead to further poor innocents suffering at the their hands. There is never a reasonable excuse to turn these people loose again at any time. Zero tolerence is a must.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Liam, I completely agree, and so many times rapists and pedophiles escalate to murder, and the most heinous of those, sexual sadists.
I believe DJ falls into this group. How he has escaped his just desserts thus far, is incredulous and unconscionable.
http://m.wsmv.com/w/localnews/story/74923357/
Blink,
OT,, Just checking in to see if your eyes were on Colorado?
Happy Thanksgiving to all my BOC family. I’m grateful for so many things. Since this is Megan’s thread, I’m grateful justice revealed itself. I will have a special place in my heart for her and her family at the dinner table, this year.
Infinite, abundant blessings, my dear friendLY and friendies!
Faith Hope Love
Oh yeah…it’s Thanksgiving in Canada. I keep forgetting I’m in the states, so to speak.
Regardless……xo!
This article is off topic regarding Megan, but not necessarily when we consider what happened to Megan–none of which was her fault.
http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2012/10/bend_rape_victim_–_focus_of_a.html
An Oregon woman went on a date with this male who hired Stephen Houze to defend him.
At the same trial where Thomas Bray was convicted of rape, he was acquitted of rape of another woman whose ‘story’ was not as believable.
Make sure you check out his mugshot.
Bray also had priors in California–2 counts forgery in 1993 and 1994.
He had an emeritus status as an anesthesiologist and was teaching part time at an Oregon community college.
He was accused of raping two women, kidnapping, sodomy, and choking of both of them. A Cali judge also granted a TRO for domestic violence involving a 27 y.o. woman a few months before he was charged with rape.
http://www.ktvz.com/news/Bend-Rape-Suspect-Has-Troubled-Past/-/413192/621710/-/13gbcdb/-/index.html
Blink – are you following the Jessica Ridgeway abduction in Colorado?
Is it an abduction? Yes.
B
Our forefathers choose to make it very hard in this country for the state or the crown to lock up its citizens. We have built on that theme. We chose to do that despite knowing that it will lead to problems sometimes waiting too long to throw away the key on incurable criminals among us. 21 felony convictions and out of jail is a perfect example of the system not working right. The three strikes and you are out laws have problems, mostly because of what is and is not considered a felony (and our asinine drug laws — which are the primary reason violent criminals get out earlier than they should), but 21 should have had him off the street until was old
It still is a much better system than the alternatives we see in most non-western countries IMO. They would have him off the street, but our own freedoms would be much less. Remember that back in the days TGF was talking about with the do it themselves communities, and continuing into much more recent times than most of us want to admit, it wasn’t just the donnie joneses who “went west”, it was the uppity black folk, the chinese and other “undesirables”, and it included a lot of innocent people who got the blame for the horrible crime of the day, whether they did it or not. Texas is still executing innocent people to this day — and that is with all of our frustrating to many of us built in safeguards.
I hope they charge this guy soon, along with the people who must have helped him, that he gets a thorough and vigorous defense and then pays the price for whatever he did.
redly,
Thank you. You are a wise woman. I agree that our drug laws have created a bottle neck in the judicial system. Your sensitivity to both sides of the argument is appreciated.
In this imperfect world we live in, information from our past can and will be used against us if put in the hands of the wrong individual. However I feel the good could far outweigh the bad when opening juvenile records to LE. It would be like night and day when comparing the files of someone who commits a one time non-violent crime or an individual that commits an innocent “crime” such as blinks versus someone with Donnie Jones history.
I know ya’ll are the experts on this and I definately am not so this is strictly just my opinion only. While I know the importance of protecting the innocent, I am so tried of seeing the bad guys use these laws to their advantage.
Liam and Pale Rider- Thanks for sharing your thoughts-
I agree there does not seem to be any reform for rapists and pedos. I have not done any research on what the ratio is of reoffenders vs non-repeat offenders Blink do you know?
Wordgirl- Hi
Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with me- and its nice to know you are a Mom too-
First let me be clear I am only speaking of juveniles records. I think some are misinterpreting my stance as to include adults
Wordgirl you wrote:
The past is a strong predictor of the future.
It’s true. Undeniably so if you look at the evolution of our culture.
—I agree most certainly for adults who reoffend
but for children for adolescents a better maxim IMO would be
“Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it”
- Many children and adolescents who have histories of juvenile offenses do not go on to become adult criminals-
You wrote:
Any person who commits a violent act has to be monitored and prove himself not a danger any longer.
yes these kids have been held accountable they have served their time and they are subject to mental health evaluations etc and probation and all the rest- many of them grow up to be fine upstanding citizens with good jobs and families – and part of the reason for this is because their juvenile records are sealed- they can truthfully answer the question on a job application as NO I have never committed a felony or crime.
BTW Violent acts come in many forms in our society not all are criminal acts either
so that is a broad brush you are weilding there word girl
Violence escalates and is predictable.
Violence CAN escalate and it can also DE-escalate- Violence like every other emotional response CAN be predictable but it is NOT always predictable.
You wrote:
I think Gavin deBecker gives a very good account of how this happens in his many books on violence.
Yes he does focus on that topic – and I do value his warning to listen to your intuition or “Gift of Fear”- In otherwords Be AWARE aware of your surroundings, get out of bad situation or potentially bad situation or relationship, never feel as though you need to be polite or nice at the expense of your safety- that is sound advice IMO— and much of it is common sense and most knew it before spending their money on His book- others did not
so yes Gavins work is valuable– Listen to Your Gift of Fear = be Aware –take self defense classes- support groups etc
but at the risk of offending Blink and all other Gavin readers-
Im gonna share my not so glowing review = I must point out that IMO he does tend to over-simplify and sometimes he seems to be blaming the victim –if they think real hard about the attack, the rape, the bad relationship-they should have seen it coming…. so shame on them– AJMO
You wrote:
Juvenile records need to remain open to the FBI, LE, military, so that those young “errors” (perhaps) or “socio-psychopathic” acts (not excluding the possibility) can be assessed to determine risk to the community–as well as for those who must supervise them.
WordGirl these files are not open- and the Military have very stringent Psychiatric Evaluations – and as Ive said the risk to society has already been assessed and they were treated served time and released – also in alot of violent cases most times the courts will charge the juveniles as ADULTS thereby canceling these files being sealed-
You wrote:
We don’t have the luxury to ignore a juvenile’s violent, felony convictions. He may have changed and become a great person or maybe not.
Actually according to our laws it seems most feel the childrens rights and futures depend upon that “luxury”
“He may have changed and become a great person or maybe not.”
The same can be said for you or me or any Joe Smoe on the street WG-
We never know if we are standing next to-
No One knows what another is capable of- or what is in their “past” as many offenders are never identified or caught-just because those kids felony/s occurred in their youth- does not mean your first time out cant be as an adult–
Every day in life is a risk WG-
Im w/ with Blink I dont know the answers but I am willing to work to find them- I just dont happen to believe that juveniles records should be unsealed.
AJMO
Peace
Ps Word Girl thank you for bringing over those links- very informative-
When will we get to the point when we can stop trying to blame the victims? Sooner rather than later I hope.
Over the past few days I’ve been pondering everyone’s comments. I respect ATG and Blink immensely, but….Our society IS capable of locking up the violent offenders FOREVER. Our system is flawed and often violent offenders are let out to commit further violent crime. This is a problem that we need to attempt to fix, and IMO further killing is not the answer.
As redly says, as flawed humans, mistakes are made and the innocent are sometimes executed. Even killers sentenced to death often have people who love them. Often killers have made attempts to redeem themselves and leave this world being the best humans they can be, hopefully forgiven by their maker. Violence in any form is ugly and death is irreversible. I believe in stopping the cycle of violence.
Our efforts should be concentrated in making sure violent felons are not released.
May Megan rest in peace.
Getting caught up on the comments. There’s a lot to digest here.
I was initially horrified at his lowered bond. Then realizing that apparently there wasn’t a bonding company in the area that would risk it, that brought relief in a small way.
It truly makes me hope the evidence gets back in a flash so those indictments can move along so the Federal charges won’t take precedence. (not to be mistaken, I want every single charge coming to him to stick and stick heavy…I just want and hope Megans murder is not put on the back burner)
And, the others involved are put away fast as well.
Remember, they’re still out there running around.
Christy, that had to be brutal on you to share, I sincerely appreciate your trust and courage.
B
I, like others, pray and hope the children that were (are?) in that home are safe and not in harm right now.
I am astounded at Kellys strength and even though we don’t know her true pain, we can rally around her and hold her up.
As for DJ having 21 felonies, in my opinion, there was a skip in the system obviously. Probation makes money for the state/county.
What baffles me is, these crimes he was charged with previously were no small crimes.
Fake a suicide/death, escape (x2?), etc.
DJ is 37 years old….. Investigator Hindman stated he ‘knew’ him for approx 25 years.
I am going on a small tangent here about ‘juv records’ being sealed.
I do believe they should be unsealed to only LE, Judges and the like, in the event of matters such as this.
You don’t hear, as B stated, “Wow..never saw that coming”. Someone, somewhere, had suspicions that person would grow up to do bad things.
A bit of history regarding my view.
I have a half brother…currently locked up in Huntsville Tx prison for his 5th + felony.
Agg assault on LE, Felon with a gun(x3), drug charges, it goes on and on.
He was not raised in the same home as me, his mother was a complete non parent to him, and my father just didnt’ have the skills nor the true concern to parent him.
I would call my dad and tell him what I was hearing he was doing (B & E, robbery, drugs, etc) Dad would say “Well… I don’t know about all that”
Then like clockwork, I’d get a collect call from a county jail. He’d literally bail out and the county over would be there to arrest him.
He served 8 years in one Tx prison, affiliated himself with a gang (he told me the reasons, you all know the reasons why that happens)
and I didn’t realize how deep it all was until I saw him after he got out almost 2 years ago.
I went home to visit family and got to spend time with him in the process.
He was very honest with me and said it was easier for him to be a criminal than work a 40 hr job. The risk of making $200 in one night was worth it…in his eyes and mind.
Of course, swearing he was going to be good and get his life in order went all to hell and since I follow the news back home still…I saw they had a apb out for some guy that shot someone in a parking lot.
Long story short, it was drug deal gone bad (and really, are there any ‘good’ drug deals?) after brother went on the run, he was busted immediately when he pulled back into the city limits after about 3 weeks.
He managed to get someone to make bail for him and he was out again.
He was terrified of going back in the prison system, as the ABrotherhood found out he was running with folks they didn’t approve of.
After a “Criminal of the Week/Most wanted” bulletin was put out, he was found hiding in an apartment.
The sheriff dept was taking no chances this time, he was armed, he had previous assault on a peace officer, and he isn’t a small man.
A small stand off and he’s back in the Tx prison system, in the Gang Renouncement and Disassociation program they have.
He has no chance of getting out until at least 2018.
Had his juvenile records been recognized, he would have either had a longer sentence his first time in the system, or forced to do other programs.
He’s even said this himself.
He was one of those ‘born to be bad’ criminals. I always hope for the best for him, but I don’t give him an inch of leeway. He’s permanently marked all over his body as a AB member, I have no idea how that will affect him when he is out again.
Kindof off topic, but in some cases…especially violent crimes, LE should have access to these records. The past is a great indicator of the future a lot of the times.
I just want to clarify – Naomi Jones was a knowing participant in this crime, correct? Is it alleged that she lured Megan Sharpton, knowing what her husband was going to do to her?
If she was a willing accomplice, for my money, I don’t know which is scarier – this man, or the woman who was complicit and aided the man she loved in the commission of violence against another woman. Truly, truly disturbing.
I am aware of case sensitive information that I believe is under investigation as to any complicity on Ms. Jone’s behalf. That said, to date, there is no evidence to support an allegation that she is involved.
B
Ragdoll
I did not know that Canada had a thanksgiving day. Is it October 8 each year? And happy Thanksgiving to you my Canadian friend.
Mom 3.0
Thanks for your point of view. I realize that my eight decades of being on the planet have created a much larger and perhaps more varyed experience base than you. This probably makes me a lot harder on the youth of today that have lost respect for adults and community.
I think that you may work in some field that gives you access to young people who are in trouble.
Just for your knowledge, in the 1930′s,40′s & 50′s it was a common thing for a young man of 17 to 21 who was in trouble with a possible jail sentence to be offered an opportunity by the court to join the Army or Navy. If the problem did not consist of an assault with a weapon, then the appropriate service branch recuiter would be contacted and arrangements made to accept him or not. If accepted,the young man would have a four year enlistment.
Boot camp in those days was twelve to sixteen weeks of very hard work and much disclipine. This often corrected a problem of respect for laws and community. If not, then the young man would wind up in a military stockade.
Respectfully to all commenters, and most of all to Megan’s family – I am a criminology graduate student. There’s been a lot of talk on here about juvenile offenders, etc without a lot of research or statistics to back up what you are saying.
To bring it in to perspective, and in no way minimize what happened to Megan or what has happened to any of the victims that Blink writes about:
There is a huge gap between society’s perception of crime and what is actually taking place. According to one theory there are two types of juvenile offenders: adolescence-limited offenders and lifecourse-persistent offenders. What determines what category one will fall into is dependent upon a whole host of factors such as attachment, association with delinquent peers, low self-control, bad parenting, etc that I will not go into on this post. The point though is that the great majority of juvenile offenders are adolescence-limited – meaning, they mature out of crime and do not go on to commit criminal acts as adults. One of the reasons we even distinguish culpability between juveniles and adults is that neuro-bio research is showing that the part of our brain that controls impulse is not even fully developed until we are 18 years old. Juveniles by and large commit crime because they are impulsive – my professor calls it the “kids do dumb stuff” (but with a more crass word in place of ‘stuff’) theory. The vast majority do not go on to commit crimes as adults. The problem with juvenile violence is that as a country we have wide access to more and more lethal weapons. When adults in a drug trade or gang go to prison, juveniles fill the power vacuum. They have access to a gun without the frontal-lobe impulse control or experience to know how to handle it. Whereas youths used to flash pocket knives to show their power, now they show a gun. Guns are way more lethal than knives. So what used to be an aggravated assault is now a homicide in the reports.
Violent career criminals like Donnie Jones are still very, very rare. Despite what it may seem, nationwide crime rates are lower than they have been in The vast majority of those in prison right now are for non-violent drug offenses. Drug offenses are also the biggest category of those who get swept up in determinate sentencing guidelines like “3 strikes you’re out” sentencing. Determinate sentencing guidelines were designed to eliminate judicial discretion and perceived biases in sentencing, but the problem is that it is universally applied – you can’t really pick and choose who you want to face mandatory sentences or not. So what they’ve done is drastically increased the burden on the correctional system, the cost to states, and the percentage of non-violent offenders that are sent to jail. (I consider marijuana possession and drug addicts convicted of possession to be nonviolent). When you devote more resources to incarceration, you might get cuts in other areas like probation and parole departments. Of course, none of this really explains how a felon with 21 felonies and an escape attempt was allowed to walk free for so long.
Just trying to bring some balance to the discussion lest we try and bring back public square hangings for all offenders.
Mom 3.0 thx for the reply. This is way OT but did you and I once have a conversation about taking the family to Europe? A mom at BOC said that wouldn’t be possible and I encouraged the trip. Ring a bell?
Anyways. You and I probably will disagree for always. Isn’t it cool that we have this forum to speak our minds and articulate our life philosophy, especially as we bring it to crime scenarios, which impact real people, strangers to us, who become part of our heart-family?
Thank you once again to Blink for providing this forum. There are so many bright, funny, caring, advocating, and super-cool posters here at Blink on Crime. Thank you all for your work on behalf of those who cannot. That means you, too, Mom 3.0!
B, it is a little hard to share.
My brother is my brother, Love him, just hate what he does/did.
I really thought after the first long stint in Prison, he’d not want to hurt our dad again, and had high hopes for that.
Also, during the time the sheriffs office was looking for him, our family knows the sheriff well there.
He made it clear to us that he was a felon, he was armed and his previous charge of assault on a peace officer was going to play a role in how they retrieved him from his ‘hide out’.
He said they all know that almost every criminal has someone out there that loves them, and they keep that in mind. But when you’re a felon facing weapons charges and assault, if you fight….you will lose and probably not end up in handcuffs…likely a body bag.
I support my brothers journey through the gang disassociation program, but also realize it’s likely he will be out and in the same crowds as before.
He got what he deserved, he knows it…we all know it.
DJ having previous escape and faked suicide/death history and really, we have no idea if he’s connected to other deaths in the area yet…
he certainly does deserve to go literally up without a paddle.
I meant also to speak about the questions regarding local media coverage.
We have one newspaper in Tullahoma. It is printed Sunday, Wednesday and Friday.
Manchester has one printing a week I believe.
The local news for us is Nashville and some Huntsville.
I asked a girl at the Huntsville news to keep it in the light and she said she’s trying.
The Nashville news has covered it some, but not as much as we would like.
I am of the mind that this certainly should be covered and covered heavily by the news outlets (Print and tv)
But, as stated previously…some crimes are picked up and some aren’t.
When the case was featured on NG, it got tons of attention.
Memphis has not mentioned it. Not even once. Yet the Swift and Bobo stories were all over the local news here, and remain all over the news every time there is a “non-update.”
Redly excellent post thank you for your succinct thoughts
In the effort to educate myself I did a little research-
I came across this site;
http://www.beforeyouplea.com
It goes into indepth analysis of juvenile laws regarding records sealing expunges etc by State
As it turns out most states even those who have automatic sealing of records still allow for LE and other agencies such as schools welfare housing dept etc to have access to the sealed records.
There is a difference between sealed and expunged-
Only if certain criteria are met are juveniles allowed to expunge their records
In some states expunged = a complete destruction of the records in others the records are kept but confidential
I encourage everyone to read the laws for your State-
Because we are all on Megans thread, I did a search for Tennessee as it turns out the only way anyones record can not be viewed by LE is if that record has been expunged.
snipped-
In Tennessee, Juvenile records are not eligible for sealing because they are strictly confidential. Instead, the record can be expunged when the juvenile meets a list of requirements.[22] In order to get a record expunged,
a juvenile must be at least eighteen years old or at least one year removed from his/her most recent adjudication, has never been convicted of a criminal offense after being transferred from juvenile court pursuant to § 37-1-134, and has never been convicted of a sexual offense – whether as a juvenile or as an adult – as defined in § 40-39-202.[23]
Moreover, the juvenile must have “maintained a consistent and exemplary pattern of responsible, productive and civic-minded conduct” for at least one year immediately prior to the filing of the expungement petition, and “the juvenile has made such an adjustment of circumstances that the court, in its discretion, believes that expunction serves the best interest of the child and the community.”[24]
The records of juveniles who are at least fourteen years old and who have been charged with a violent offense that would be a felony if committed by an adult are open to the public.[34]
The records of juveniles who are tried in adult court are also open to the public.
In Tennessee, the collateral consequences of juvenile offenses are limited by strict access to juvenile records. The public is not allowed to access juvenile records, with the exception of certain limited cases, such as when a youth over the age of fourteen commits a crime that would be considered a felony if committed by an adult.[1] In these cases, the juvenile record is open to the public.[2]
However, a juvenile may be transferred to the adult system, if (s)he has committed “first degree murder, second degree murder, rape, aggravated rape, rape of a child, aggravated robbery, especially aggravated robbery, kidnapping or especially aggravated kidnapping or an attempt to commit any such offenses,” or was sixteen or older at the time of the alleged offense. [9]
—
So unless DJones somehow got his record expunged it would be there for LE to view and if it met the criteria it would also be open to the public- ad noted above
Hope this helps
AJMO
Peace
Thanks for sharing your brothers story Christy. I know it was difficult. Children are as different as snow flakes. You were very lucky to have made good choices at the right time in your life.
I believe that in your brothers case and many others that the people involved choose a group of people to replace their family. These people have strange values and those that choose similar values soon have a different type of family.
Two of my private lesson music students step father was a Texas Probation Officer. We had several conversations about what he had to deal with on a daily basis. His position was that unless a person released on probation had a solid good family that they could depend on and would listen to their instructions regarding his or her behavior, the opportunity for re-offending was about 90 percent.
Every criminal has someone in the family that truly loves them. Do they like what they do? Of course they don’t.
My mother had a nephew who got himself in trouble with drugs and alcohol in the early 1930′s. His last name was Jones too. The entire family decided they would not talk about him and they didn’t. One day she got a telephone call from him that he would be getting out of jail and he needed a sponser. I didn’t know he existed before that call. She refused and after our conversation regarding the call, she never mentioned him again. She did tell me that he started early by stealing from stores and it grew from there. The sad part was he did not need to steal. His family was not without resources.
MandyVZ -the Bobo case hits our news constantly too.
I feel for the family of course and want peace for them as well.
Interesting reading Mom3.0. Thanks for sharing.
Well, here’s another point of view to mete the DP to rebellious children.
Charlie Fuqua is running for the Arkansas House of Representatives.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/08/charlie-fuqua-arkansas-candidate-death-penalty-rebellious-children_n_1948490.html?utm_hp_ref=fb&utm_campaign=100912&utm_medium=email&utm_content=NewsEntry&utm_term=Daily+Brief&src=sp&comm_ref=false
Excellent post, Lyndsay. You make an important point regarding sealed juvenile records and the difference between adolescence-limited offenders and lifecourse-persistent offenders.
Lyndsay, thank you for your perspective, and I agree on many of your points, though I had learned in neuropsych that the human brain is not fully developed until mid twenties. I’ve said for years that anyone under the age of 25 is effing retarded…pardon then non-PC reference.