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Jones
Jefferson County Criminal District Attorney Bob Wortham announced today that a 43-year-old man was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Christopher Ray Jones, 43, was sentenced by Criminal District Judge John B. Stephens to 30 years in Texas prison following a jury trial where the jury convicted Jones of murder.
Prosecutors Jimmy Hamm and Mike Laird presented the case. On February 14, 2019, the Beaumont Police Department was investigating a
victim of a shooting at 5575 Pine Burr. Officer Carol Mack and Odis Butler arrived on the scene and secured the weapon as other officers arrived.
Jones claimed that his wife, Olivia Dawn Jones, was attempting suicide when he attempted to wrestle the gun away from her. The State refuted all these false claims by showing the inconsistent stories Jones gave from 911 calls, body cameras, home security videos and his statement to support the
conviction of murder.
The jury found the defendant guilty of the offense as charged after four days of testimony and two days of deliberation.
Prosecutor Jimmy Hamm would like to thank the Beaumont Police Department for how professionally they handled this matter.
"The entire department did an outstanding job testifying and exemplified the type of professionalism we demand from our public servants, especially the lead detective, Mendy Freeman," wrote Hamm. "Sgt. Celestina Rossi of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department provided critical blood stain analysis was essential to obtaining a conviction on this matter, and she did an exemplary job explaining the biological evidence that disputed the defendant’s claims."