By Steve Rogers/The Packet
A man who shot his brother almost four years ago in a land dispute pleads guilty and gets a break on sentencing.
But he’d better keep his nose clean or he could end up in prison for a while.
James Jones, 67, of Hairston Bend Road, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and was sentenced to 10 years in prison with all but the six months he’s already served in jail suspended. He also can’t have any contact with the victim, his brother, Marvin Jones, must pay $5,000 in restitution for medical costs and can’t go on the property in dispute, according to the order handed down by Lowndes County Circuit Court Judge Lee Coleman.
He also must pay a $1,200 fine and serve five years on post-release supervision. If he gets into trouble again, he could be ordered to serve the entire sentence.
The victim, Marvin Jones, had asked for a “minimum of five years,” in a victim’s impact statement signed earlier this year. He still has shotgun pellets in his body and said jail time was a way to make his brother realize “his actions have consequences. He can’t just go around doing what he wants to do.”
In the latest incident, he shot his brother with a shotgun on Nov. 6, 2013, at the Hairston Bend Road property.
James Jones is not stranger to gun play. He was convicted on Nov. 28, 2005, of aggravated assault with a gun. He was sentenced to 10 years for that crime.
Shooting into dwelling
In an unrelated case, 32-year-old Kentreal Hill was sentenced to years, with all but one year in the county jail, suspended for shooting into a dwelling.
He also must pay a $500 fine after he is released. He reports to jail Sept. 15 to start serving his sentence, according to an order signed by Lowndes County Circuit Court Judge Jim Kitchens.
The incident happened June 17, 2014, when Hill fired four shots from a handgun at an apartment at 602 Pear St. He was shooting at the apartment where Gregory Perry lived at the time and one of the bullets from the handgun went through Perry’s apartment into the unit where Willie Richardson lived.
20 years in burglary plea
In another case, a man with a history of burglaries dating more than a decade pleads guilty to committing the same crimes again.
Judge Kitchens sentenced 29-year-old Darin Haynes to 20 years in prison with all but seven years suspended. As part of the plea bargain agreement, Kitchens also lifted Haynes’ habitual offender status, which means he can get out of prison sooner.
The charges in this latest plea included the Sept. 24, 2015, burglary of the residence of Ryan Clardy and two counts of possession of a weapon by a convicted felon for being caught on Oct. 1, 2015, in possession of two knives.
Haynes was convicted of burglary in 2007 and again in 2010. According to court records, he’s been charged with 15 counts of burglary since 2006, including four business burglaries, five home burglaries and six car burglaries.
Domestic violence
In a domestic violence case, 38-year-old Lavarro Sadler was sentenced to 10 years with five suspended and five to serve for aggravated domestic violence. The sentence will run consecutive to any other sentence he might receive in other cases. He also must pay a $500 fine and not have any contact with the victim, former girlfriend Travundra Moody. He attacked and choked her on July 25, 2016.
In a victim’s impact statement, she says she has nightmares from the incident and still is scared to go outside for fear he or his friends might come after her.
Sadler has a prior record of forgery, fleeing police and attempted aggravated assault on a police officer.
