Relative: Jones is ‘crazy’ (suspected Ga. killer)

Rome (Ga.) News-Tribune ^ | Jan. 9, 2004 | Lauren Gregory

[Madstrider]

Relative: Jones is ‘crazy’

By Lauren Gregory
Rome News-Tribune Staff Writer

Jerry William Jones’ trail of crimes starts in the late 1980s and includes convictions in Floyd, Gordon, Clayton, Fulton and Henry counties.
Most were theft, shoplifting or traffic charges that ended with some time in prison and decades of probation.
Jones also lost his mother and stepfather in the ValuJet crash in the Florida Everglades in 1996, which left him with a sizable settlement that relatives said disappeared in no time.
And while relatives say they saw hints of violence and heard his threats over the years, they never imagined the nightmare unfolding in Ranger.
Jones’ former neighbors on Reservoir Street in Rome were stunned to hear of his latest charges.
Eletha Caldwell’s mother lives in the public housing unit next to the one Jones shared with his children and an unidentified woman. Caldwell said her 9-year-old daughter used to play with Jones’ oldest daughter, and she was stunned by Thursday’s news.
“He’s real nice. I used to see him around, playing with the kids in the yard,” Caldwell said, adding that she once drove his children to school when they missed the bus.
“It’s a shame,” she said, clicking her teeth. “They’d be out there in the front, playing ball and riding bikes and having fun.”
But relatives tell a far different story.
Hubert Pack, the brother-in-law of Tom Blaylock, one of the four people Jones is accused of killing, said Jones and his ex-wife, Melissa Peeler, lost custody of their three daughters two or three months ago.
The care of Brandy, 4, Tammy, 3, and Jerri “Harley” Jones, 10 months, was transferred to Peeler’s parents, Tom and Nola Blaylock of Ranger, he said. The Blaylocks — both found murdered — also had custody of Peeler’s daughter from another relationship, Brittany Phelps, 10.
Both Brittany Phelps and Brandy Jones attended Main Elementary in Rome until a few weeks ago, said school principal Marvin Bynes. “They were well-behaved children,” he said. “We had no problems with them.”
David O’Donnell, Jones’ former brother-in-law, said the girls’ parents had problems in the past and were in an ongoing dispute.
O’Donnell, who lives in Ellijay, called Jones “crazy,” recalling a heated argument between himself and Jones five years ago that resulted in Jones shooting one of his horses.
Jones had been threatening Peeler for some time, constantly calling and threatening to set fire to her mobile home, Pack said.
Jones is no stranger to tragedy himself, losing his parents in the 1996 ValuJet crash in the Everglades. He received a settlement after the crash but blew the money on drugs, O’Donnell said.
Jones, released from Hardwick’s Scott State Prison in August 1997, has served two terms for crimes committed in metro Atlanta counties during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Jones was sentenced in Fulton County to serve two years for theft by receiving stolen property. He also was sentenced in Clayton County to serve a total of 14 years: three for theft of a motor vehicle in 1989, one for shoplifting in 1992, five for theft by receiving stolen property in 1992 and five for theft of a motor vehicle in 1992.
He stole another car in Henry County in 1990 and was sentenced to three years.
In addition, he was convicted of a misdemeanor theft charge in Orange County, Fla., in 1998.
Jones’ probation was revoked Aug. 15, 2001, after he was found to be in possession of a .22-caliber firearm on Oct. 17, 2000. He was sentenced in Gordon County Superior Court to serve six months in prison and four-and-a-half more years on probation, and was fined $1,000.
On Aug. 13, 2002, Jones was stopped by Floyd County police after traveling at 68 mph in a 45-mph zone and was cited for no insurance, driving on a revoked license and felony obstruction of a police officer.
He pled guilty to all charges in Floyd County Superior Court in October 2003 and was sentenced to four years probation, fines totaling $2,000 plus surcharges and 250 hours community service.
His probation officer filed a petition to revoke his probation in Gordon County on Dec. 4, 2002. Gordon County Superior Court Judge Shephard Howell gave Jones credit for time served and sentenced him to intensive probation for four to six months last Feb. 12.
A warrant for Jones’ probation violation in Floyd County was filed Thursday.
Gordon County Sheriff Jerry Davis said he can’t wait to get Jones behind bars once again. “I’ve had him in the Gordon County jail for traffic violations. I need him back in the jail for murder.”
Staff Writers Diane Wagner and Kristin Smith, Roman Record Editor Amy Knowles and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

[Madstrider]

Biography of a Scumbag

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[sandpit]

What gets me is why do women breed with these defective wastes of human flesh?

[honeygrl]

They should've let the bastard bleed to death when they found him. UGH The quick easy death penalty is too good for him. Those 3 kids who survived are old enough to be traumatized for life over this.

Not sure if this article was posted...

RANGER, Ga. - A manhunt across the Southeast ended late Thursday when a tip led authorities to a jealous ex-husband who allegedly killed three former in-laws and his infant daughter, then fled with three girls.
The girls were found safe, and the suspect shot himself in the face after a police chase on Interstate 75 near the Tennessee line. Authorities said he was hospitalized in critical condition.
Jerry William Jones, 31, is accused of shooting the former in-laws to death and strangling his infant daughter Wednesday before fleeing with the girls in a stolen sport utility vehicle. Two of the girls are his daughters, and the other is a former stepdaughter.
The suspect has a long criminal history, including convictions for burglary and auto theft.
Jones called his ex-wife, Melissa Peeler, late Wednesday and told her of the killings, adding that he would ''start killing the kids one by one'' if she alerted authorities, said his former brother-in-law, David O'Donnell.
Peeler had left the children with her parents and sister before leaving for Oregon to visit her boyfriend over the Christmas holidays. She notified police after getting the phone call.
Peeler's parents, Tom and Nola Blaylock, were found shot to death in one home. In the other house, authorities found Jones' former sister-in-law, Georgia Bradley, shot to death, while Jones' 10-month-old daughter by Peeler, Harley, was apparently strangled.
Georgia Bureau of Investigation spokesman John Bankhead said the crime scenes indicated that the killer was ''very methodical.''
Jerry William Jones allegedly killed three former in-laws and his infant daughter. He shot himself after a police chase.
''This wasn't quick. He clearly took his time,'' Bankhead said.
After a public alert was issued, police in Whitfield County got a tip that Jones' vehicle had been spotted headed north on Interstate 75 toward Tennessee.
Deputies spotted the car and saw the children, but Jones refused to pull over, GBI director Vernon Keenan said. Jones drove a short way off the interstate when a state trooper bumped the car's rear, crashing it into a telephone pole.
The 10-year-old got out, and officers saw Jones slump in the front seat. They pulled the other children out, one of them covered in Jones' blood. Jones and the girls were found about 50 miles north of where the killings occurred 24 hours earlier.
The girls were being kept overnight at a Chattanooga hospital. ''They're being evaluated but I do not believe there are any serious injuries,'' said hospital spokeswoman Jan Powell.
Bankhead said investigators would compare the weapon found with Jones to determine if it was used in Wednesday's shootings.
Authorities said the motive appeared to be jealousy over his ex-wife visiting her new boyfriend.
O'Donnell said that Jones was constantly threatening violence and that Peeler had been trying to get away from him.
''He says all the time, he'll kill you, he'll kill me or whoever,'' O'Donnell said. ''He's an idiot, just a crazy person.''
The missing girls are Peeler and Jones' children - Brandy Jones, 4, and Tammy Jones, 3 - and Peeler's daughter from a previous relationship, Brittany Phelps, 10. Officials say Peeler and Jones were never legally married but had a common-law marriage.
Jones' mother and stepfather were killed in the 1996 ValuJet crash in the Florida Everglades, and O'Donnell said Jones got a substantial settlement.
''He blew the money almost as fast as he got it, mostly on drugs,'' O'Donnell said.

[Devil_Anse]

Very good question. Must be b/c the women in question are themselves defective wastes of human flesh.

This guy's case should be compared to that of Andrea Yates. She killed her 4 older children, plus her own infant. This guy killed 3 other people, plus his own infant. Yet weepy compassion fascists insist that we should try to understand poor Andrea's mental illness and pain. Bet we don't hear one word about trying to understand this guy's mental illness and pain.

Not that he OR Yates deserve any such consideration. But people need to quit favoring women defendants when it comes to the crime of murder.

[cherry]

It didn't take long for the "put the focus of the article on someone else" crowd to appear....

Yates, btw, was on HALDOL.....she never should have been left with the kids alone.....her family and especially the doctors who let her out of the mental hospital carry the blame ....

did I miss it, or was this guy in the article ever hospitalized or medicated for psychiatric problems?...its one thing to actually have a diagnosis and another for neighbors to just say that someone is strange or differant.....

maybe we can start a trend here on FR....whenever we get these murder/death/kill stories, lets all agree that the number one culprit is always, always the one who did it....and we won't dilute the tragedy of the murder by comparing it to someone else, or blaming the victim, or blaming the custody laws.....

[Devil_Anse]

I have no sympathy for Yates. While she was apparently psychotic, in fact there are a lot of murderers who are psychotic. Some people would argue that anyone who murders must be insane, b/c murder is not the action of a sane person.

I believe that Yates gets compassion b/c of her gender. I have yet to see a single male child-killer have that same compassion extended to him. Some of those male killers are at LEAST as mentally ill as Yates allegedly was. The fact is, there is much more leniency towards female criminal defendants, both in our court system, and in our public's mind, than towards male criminal defendants.

I am not saying that Yates' family is not to blame. As for doctors having discharged her from a mental hospital, Cherry, you know that since about the 70's our law has changed so that severely mentally ill persons can't be kept long-term in hospitals. I think you'd agree with me that this is a bad trend, if it lets someone like Yates out on the street, where she does NOT belong. This bad trend in the law sometimes leaves doctors with no choice but to let out people who shouldn't be out. Plus, who are we kidding? It is insurance companies, not doctors, who dictate medical care anyway.

I note that Yates was not so "ill" that she couldn't repeatedly have sex. Her husband, btw, is one of the most sickening specimens I've ever laid eyes on.

But, sorry, I think both this guy and Yates deserve to fry for what they did. Some people are just to harmful to society to keep around.

[I_dmc]

Fan of Demolition Man?

[I_dmc]

You have to understand. It violates our basic beliefs in an ordered society for a mother to kill her children, so its far more difficult for the public to accept a mother as a monster. It is far easier for the public to accept a man, father or not, as a monster. This has an impact.

[Devil_Anse]

You make a good point. It's just too horrible for society to contemplate: the ultimate heroine, the Mother, as a monster. No, no, a murderer is some guy with a big, scary rifle, and maybe a creepy "Jason" mask!

The other day I saw some article about people being prosecuted for drug trafficking, and the article referred to two of them as "two grandmothers". As if to say, "Just imagine! Putting handcuffs on someone as wonderful as a Grandma!" (Never mind that we have lots of 30-year-old grandmas nowadays.)

[Lakeside]

I have friends who live in that area who had a chance run-in with this guy several years ago. He was/is the type who tries to provoke a confrontation so he has an excuse to explode. Thank goodness my friends didn't take the bait.Believe me, considering what he did to them,my friends used enormous restraint.

Oh, and by the way, this guy's settlement the news keeps talking about re. his parents demise on the Valuejet crash is reported to have been 8 million. That's a lot of money to blow on drugs.

[honeygrl]

At the very least, they should both be sterilized. Neither need to ever be able to reproduce again. I agree with you about Yates too. I think that anyone who murders is insane, but that shouldn't make them exempt from the same consequences everyone else gets.

[Devil_Anse]

Bingo! I agree!

Frying is probably better than sterilizing, though, as frying would keep them from reproducing OR murdering, whereas, sterilizing wouldn't keep them from murdering...

[lugsoul]

Hmmm... SHE also lost custody of the kids. Wonder what her bio is like.

[honeygrl]

Well, frying is definitely the better option, but we know the court system wouldn't do that to a woman too easily. (as bad asit is, it's the unfortunate reality) I'd be happy though with life in prison and sterilization in case they let them out on parole.

[Madstrider]

What gets me is why do women breed with these defective wastes of human flesh?

That is the $64,000 question, isn't it? An ugly, low-rent creep with a violent temper -- if women had any taste at all, his type would soon be extinct.

[Madstrider]

Yates, btw, was on HALDOL.....she never should have been left with the kids alone

Exactly. When I first heard she was on Haldol, my reaction was: "What the ....??"

I have some experience and knowledge in this area. Haldol is a very POWERFUL anti-psychotic medication. Anyone who has any exposure to mental health facilities knows about the "Haldol shuffle" -- the slow-motion way mental patients walk when they're zonked on Haldol. Haldol is basically used to shut down delusions, especially when the patient is raving and/or violent. When administered in a strong dose, Haldol (like Thorazine, the other heavy-duty anti-psychotic) is sort of a chemically-induced, temporary lobotomy.

When I heard that Yates had been sent home on Haldol, after only a few days in treatment, I realized how much impact HMOs have had on mental health care. Just 15 years ago, if you were crazy enough to need Haldol, you were crazy enough to be institutionalized for at least two weeks, if not a full month. I find it impossible to believe that anyone could be expected to care for two children while zonked on Haldol. Heavy antipsychotics (and nothing is heavier than Haldol) really fog the brain, and make it very difficult to deal with any complex or demanding task.

Andrea Yates should never have been sent home until she was sane enough to maintain on milder medication. Her mental health care providers screwed up BIG TIME, and I am surprised they haven't been sued.