DuckSouth.com

It's a sad day in south mississippi

http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20 ... ext%7CHome


I knew Ron personally and even wore his high school football number that they turned into a memorial jersey after his death, cannot believe that something like this has happened. Just goes to show you how liberal things are becoming.

i've been wanting to puke for quite some time.

ron was a great dude....gator

while it is an absolute travesty that the officer was killed. Why did they think they had any right or need to go in the other side of the duplex? Especially when they had taken into custody the person they came for??

This is the first I have heard of this case, I am sure there are parts we do not know being up in the North part of the state.

it was south ms lodi, prentiss, ms, jeff davis county.

part of a narc sting operation that was a county wide blanket, if memory serves. i knew several of the guys involved, including ron very well.

i wasn't there, so i can't comment on why they were entering the house.

gator

Maybe someone will shoot him between the eyes!!!!!!!!!!

ducman77 wrote:Maybe someone will shoot him between the eyes!!!!!!!!!!

ii'm going out on a limb and just guessing from growing up in the community and knowing the folks that live there....if he comes back to prentiss, he'll never have a good night of sleep the rest of his life.

one of my closest friends ("iffee" in my stories) was his first cousin and idolized ron like i've never seen. "iffee's" never been "iffee" since. rons dad was the chief of police in prentiss for many many years and i think was still there when ron started on the force.

i probably have 100 funny azzed stories about ron and/or his family in general.....and, yes, he kept me outta jail a night or 10.

gator

I'm not defending the guy nor do I know what happened, but I sleep so hard that I don't know if I would've heard anyone identify themselves before they burst through my door. And if I'm awakened from slumber to armed strangers in my house I would more than likely come out barrels hot.

You know I wasn't there so not 100% on the details, but basically this is your cracker jack type duplex. If the cops are raiding the house next to you you are going to know it. Also not seeing how he went from a dead sleep into a defensive firing position behind cover, not sure we will ever know for sure. I do know his defense lawyer is now a Mississippi legislator and one of the biggest liberals out there.............................


With all that said man I wasted a many of opening weekend of dove season tagging along to Mr Ronald's fields, between 20 people maybe 40 doves were killed usually way less than that; but it was always a heck of a time

I know when we did raids one Guy says Search Warrant the others say POLICE until the house is clear.. Plus if your a drug dealer you know the Police are coming one day. They sleep with one eye open..

deleted, please excuse

From Jimmy Barton

Im going to give you some first hand insight on this case. At the time this happened I was working as a K9 officer in Lawrence Co, which borders Jeff Davis. When I went to work for Sheriff Joel Thames on the night he took over as Sheriff on December 31, 1999 Lawrence Co was virtually the wild west as the previous Sheriff had gotten out of the 5 county Pearl River Basin Narcotics Task Force and there was not much drug enforcement going on or at least thats the way it appeared to me. Sheriff Thames was skeptical about getting back into the task force due to the costs involved. I lobbied hard to get Lawrence County back into the task force and eventually we did get back in. I later went on to work for them as an Agent and that was my last assignment in LE. So the reason I tell you all of that is that Prentiss was one of the member agencies of the task force. So with that said Ron would help us with raids and we help them from time to time. This case tears at my heart because on the night of this raid December 26, 2001 I was at home with strep throat and the flu or I would have very likely been on the raid. I went on my first drug raid with Ron Jones somewhere around 1998. I give you all this to preface some real important facts about the case so that you will understand that this wasnt a cowboy raid on a sleeping father. So here goes.

I am currently running for house of representatives District 91 which is held by Bob Evans the most liberal member of the house and the attorney that got this cop killer off. His representation of Corey Maye was one of the many reasons I decided to run for this office.

I worked with Ron and I was at the trial from beginning to end so here is some insight for you.

Ron Jones was not a racist nor were any of the officers present for the raid. Ron had a heart as big as Montana. He cared not whether you were white black or purple. He was as likely to take a prominent white member of the community to jail as he was a poor black or Hispanic man. I personally saw him on numerous occasions give breaks when a break was needed rather than a ticket or whatever.

The Pearl River Basin Narcotics Task Force is made up of highly trained and skilled operators, or at least was at that time. I have no idea what goes on there now. At that time 2 of the Agents, which I later worked with, were former Army Special Operations Officers, both Rangers and more specific high speed units. It is very easy for some liberal journalist to come to south MS and criticize the way things are done around here. This task force is just like everything else in MS it is underfunded and understaffed but makes the best use of their resources. Ask anyone in law enforcement and they will tell you that local officers and Agents are the ones making a dent in the drug problem not the DEA or other big agencies. We had to do all types of high risk operations at the task force including barricaded suspects, hostage type situations, high profile prisoner transport, transporting identified informants to court etc. South MS sheriff and police departments traditionally don’t have SWAT teams and at that time the task force helped fill that void.

The informant that was used to get the warrant was later determined to be a racist; however he was an informant for years for Prentiss Police and the task force. I personally used him for several operations but we didn’t discuss race. He was a drug user and knew who was dealing drugs, that’s what informants do….. The deacon at your church likely doesn’t know where the drug dealers are….. The informant provided information to Ron that drugs were being dealt from both units so he got the warrant for both units. NOW you can tear the warrant apart if you want to but go back to the moment of the raid. Ok so Ron has a legal legitimate warrant signed by Municipal Judge Kruger so he has the right to execute the warrant.

In order for an Agent or Officer to run up and kick in the door of a residence without announcing themselves they must put a no knock clause or statement in the warrant. This warrant did not have that language in it. In the event that there is a no knock clause then the officer must announce himself in a loud manner and then if they feel that evidence is possibly being destroyed they can enter with force. So here is where you need to follow closely. At trial all of the officers that testified stated that they announced themselves as police very loudly on at least 3 occasions. They stated that someone came to the window peaked out and then disappeared back into the house. Ron was at the front door knocking and then went around to the rear of the apartment tried to kick the door in 3 times and failed, he backed up and another officer was successful in kicking the door open. Ron was the first to enter with his gun in its holster, as he always did and I don’t understand why but that’s what happened. As he entered 3 shots were fired, one striking the femoral artery and he died within minutes. I have personally talked to some of the officers there since this happened including Darryl Graves who is a black Agent and one of the most trustworthy and honest people I have ever known. They, including Darryl, said that you could hear them announcing their presence all the way to the other duplex so it was loud. This testimony was given in court. This is the key issue and they covered it at trial. Remember the front door being locked and they couldn’t get in? It didn’t come up at trial but one of the officers personally told me in the last few months that once everything settled down that front door was standing wide open. Was there someone else there that got away with this alleged large amount of drugs? This is purely speculation but the officer stated that none of the officers opened the door. Raises some questions for sure.

Some facts about Corey Maye

He was at home babysitting his daughter while his girlfriend worked at a chicken plant. Best I can remember he had not worked in quite some time. The gun he had was illegal in some way I think it had the serial number filed off but don’t remember at this time. There was in fact a small amount of marijuana found at the scene. You can argue all day long about whether you think marijuana should be legal but every single drug addict that I ever interviewed started using marijuana prior to moving on to more serious drugs. I can assure you from knowing Ron that he didn’t just pick a house out of all the houses in Prentiss to raid. He had information that there was drug dealing going on. It was also said by officers that Maye held his daughter in front of him as a shield so they wouldn’t shoot him after he fired the shots.

At the trial the evidence was overwhelming and the jury convicted him of capital murder and sentenced him to death. There were at least 4 black jurors on the jury.

Bob Evans the attorney that got Corey Maye off initially promised Ron Jones family that he would not get involved in the case. He then stated after he got involved that all he wanted was to get Maye off death row. Then he got a new trial ordered. At the hearing before the Court of Appeals the Judge stated that there were not enough blacks on the jury so he ordered a new trial. Ron’s mother stated that she was told that a 6 figure retainer fee was paid to Bob Evans to get him to take the case. She was also told that the NAACP and ACLU paid part of this money. This came directly to me from her and I don’t know if it is true and she doesn’t know if it is true but did tell me this. The worst part is that Mr. Evans is the current Representative in the MS House of Representatives. His district includes Lawrence and Jeff Davis Counties. Corey Maye’s family lives in Lawrence and most of Ron’s family lives in Jeff Davis and some in Lawrence. Mr. Evans took this case after being elected to office for his first term in 2007. How can an attorney take such a high profile case when the victim’s family lives in his district? Now I don’t think it is illegal or unethical but was just flat out wrong.

There a couple questions you must answer.

1-Did Ron Jones have the legal right to be at the duplex? Yes he had a valid warrant. You have to consider the validity at the time, not after years of legal scrutiny

2-Did Ron Jones have the legal right to forcefully enter the apartment? Well if you believe all of the other officers at the scene who stated that they announced who they were before entering. Remember this took more time than you may think. They went to the front door and couldn’t get in so they then went around to the back door.

3-Did Corey Maye shoot a police officer? Yes without question

4-Did this shot cause the death of Ron Jones? Yes without question

5-Did Corey Maye know or should he have reasonably have known that he was shooting a police officer? Yes see #2

I hope these facts clear up some questions. There is no changing it now but I just hope that some of this information will help clear the air. Ron Jones was a great guy and a compassionate police officer. This is one of the worst tragedies to ever happen in Jeff Davis County. Only 4 years before this in 1997 Tommy Bourne a great friend of mine and the whole community, along with JP Rutland were murdered by a career criminal. They were both deputies for Jeff Davis County. For a county as small as Jeff Davis to have 3 officers killed in less than 5 years is appalling. Jeff Davis County has a higher murder rate than Detroit, LA, New York, Memphis and Miami. Jeff Davis County is hurting for industry. Would you locate a business in a county where a cop killer walked free?

while it is an absolute travesty that the officer was killed. Why did they think they had any right or need to go in the other side of the duplex? Especially when they had taken into custody the person they came for??

This is the first I have heard of this case, I am sure there are parts we do not know being up in the North part of the state.

The warrants were for both apts. The intention was to raid them simultaneously.

I'm not defending the guy nor do I know what happened, but I sleep so hard that I don't know if I would've heard anyone identify themselves before they burst through my door. And if I'm awakened from slumber to armed strangers in my house I would more than likely come out barrels hot.

Im with you on this Rob; however if you heard a raid at your house you would have no reason to think it was the police because you dont have drugs in your house and have no reason to suspect that the police would be raiding your house.

In my experience with working with Ron he always screamed police. He was a veteran officer not a rookie and had served in the army too. Police officers dont ever want to go in someones house without announcing for this very reason, Ron was no different.

Four of the officers who took part in the raid testified they knocked on Maye's door and identified themselves as law enforcement officers. Maye testified he heard neither knocks on his door nor anyone announce themselves. Maye testified he was asleep on a chair in the living room when he heard a crash, prompting him to run to his daughter's bedroom and ready a .380 caliber pistol that he kept boxed and unloaded on top of a tall headboard. When Jones burst into the bedroom, Maye fired three times. Jones was wearing a bulletproof vest, but one bullet hit just below the vest, and the injury proved fatal.

Above are some additional details about the case.

So hes asleep in his chair hears the commotion, gets up goes to his daughter's bedroom. Get the unloaded, boxed pistol, load it, grab his daughter get on the floor in a crouching position(from his testimony in court) and fire 3 rounds. All the while a whole team of officers is outside. Does this make sense? How many of you keep your firearms in your childs room boxed and unloaded? Do this drill in your head..... it doesnt add up guys.

lipsplitter39654 wrote:Four of the officers who took part in the raid testified they knocked on Maye's door and identified themselves as law enforcement officers. Maye testified he heard neither knocks on his door nor anyone announce themselves. Maye testified he was asleep on a chair in the living room when he heard a crash, prompting him to run to his daughter's bedroom and ready a .380 caliber pistol that he kept boxed and unloaded on top of a tall headboard. When Jones burst into the bedroom, Maye fired three times. Jones was wearing a bulletproof vest, but one bullet hit just below the vest, and the injury proved fatal.

Above are some additional details about the case.

So hes asleep in his chair hears the commotion, gets up goes to his daughter's bedroom. Get the unloaded, boxed pistol, load it, grab his daughter get on the floor in a crouching position(from his testimony in court) and fire 3 rounds. All the while a whole team of officers is outside. Does this make sense? How many of you keep your firearms in your childs room boxed and unloaded? Do this drill in your head..... it doesnt add up guys.

After reading that, no it does not make sense...

lipsplitter39654 wrote:Four of the officers who took part in the raid testified they knocked on Maye's door and identified themselves as law enforcement officers. Maye testified he heard neither knocks on his door nor anyone announce themselves. Maye testified he was asleep on a chair in the living room when he heard a crash, prompting him to run to his daughter's bedroom and ready a .380 caliber pistol that he kept boxed and unloaded on top of a tall headboard. When Jones burst into the bedroom, Maye fired three times. Jones was wearing a bulletproof vest, but one bullet hit just below the vest, and the injury proved fatal.

Above are some additional details about the case.

So hes asleep in his chair hears the commotion, gets up goes to his daughter's bedroom. Get the unloaded, boxed pistol, load it, grab his daughter get on the floor in a crouching position(from his testimony in court) and fire 3 rounds. All the while a whole team of officers is outside. Does this make sense? How many of you keep your firearms in your childs room boxed and unloaded? Do this drill in your head..... it doesnt add up guys.

and during all this time he never hears POLICE, SEARCH WARRANT, LAW ENFORCEMENT being screamed from room to room??

Hate to hear the good guys dying like this....