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Jones sentenced to life for truck kidnapping
By Danny Gallagher, Staff writer
A man who kidnapped a woman in Fairview at gunpoint and forced her to drive her big rig across three counties received a life sentence Thursday.
A jury of seven men and five women sentenced Samuel Scott Jones, 33, of Dallas, to life in prison Thursday, a sentence that literally sent his wife, Krystal Jones, into shock.
Jones pleaded guilty to the charges earlier this week. It took the jury more than five hours to sentence Jones to life on a first-degree felony charge of aggravated kidnapping and 99 years on a second-degree felony charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
The following day, Jones said that he was sorry for what he had done. He apologized to McKindra and said he had no intention of harming her. He also said he was frustrated and distraught over his situation and claimed he gave McKindra the gun and let her escape once the vehicle came to a stop.
McKindra characterized Jones’ claims as “flat-out lies.”
“I think he was just trying to get a lower sentence,” McKindra said. “He’s knows as God is his witness he did not give me that gun. He has to live with that.”
McKindra said she went back on the road almost two months after her kidnapping. She said Jones is responsible for his own actions.
“I didn’t put him where he got today,” she said. “He did it to himself. I’m just glad I can put it all behind me now.”
Jones’ attorneys were Plano-based Derk Wadas and Mitch Nolte of Allen.
“We respect the verdict of juries in every case, and we respect the verdict of the jury in this case,” Wadas said.
“We felt there was significant mitigation evidence, and we’re disappointed that did not have a greater effect on the jury’s verdict,”he said.
They said they had hoped to prove to the jury that Jones released McKindra to police officials and should have received a second-degree felony kidnapping charge and lesser sentence under provisions in the Texas Code of Criminal Procedures.
“What it is if someone was found guilty of aggravated kidnapping, they are found guilty of a first-degree felony,” Nolte said. “If the jury finds they voluntarily released them in a safe place, the punishment range is knocked down to a second-degree felony … Its purpose was to encourage kidnappers to release their victims.”
After the sentencing, Krystal Jones remained very still in her gallery seat. Mr. Jones’ sister, Charlet Hill, begged her sister-in-law to stand up and asked for help when she didn’t respond. Collin County sheriff’s deputies dispatched paramedics to the courtroom.
“She was holding my hand,” Hill told the paramedics. “When the judge said 99 years, her hand got limp.”
Paramedics took her blood pressure, gave her smelling salts and tried to get Mrs. Jones to relax her hand. They then removed Jones from the courthouse on a stretcher and transported her by ambulance to Medical Center of McKinney. Her condition could not be obtained by press time.
Jurors in the trial declined to comment. Prosecutor Bill Dobiyanski could not be reached by press time.
Contact Danny Gallagher at dgallagher@acnpapers.comTo post comments online, access this story at www.scntx.com
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