Jones found guilty of involuntary manslaughter
Published on September 28th, 2005
A New Hampshire man accusing of gunning down a 26-year-old motorist on Interstate 93 in Stoneham almost two-years-ago was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter last Friday.
According to Middlesex District Attorney spokeswoman Emily LaGrassa, Manchester, N.H. resident Jerone Jones, 26, will now face up to 20 years in state prison for the conviction, which was issued by a Cambridge Superior Court jury after five hours of deliberations over a two-day period last week.
"He was found guilty on involuntary manslaughter and he's scheduled for a sentencing hearing on Oct. 27.," said LaGrassa, adding that the hearing will be held before Middlesex Superior Court Judge Nancy Staffier-Holtz at 2 p.m. "It [the conviction] carries a maximum of 20 years in state prison."
In a trial which commenced on Sept. 12 and spanned over a two-week period, Middlesex Assistant District Attorney prosecutors Thomas O'Reilly and Mark Walter accused Jones of blasting 26-year-old Manchester, N.H. resident Lynn Bader in the face with a handgun in an apparent act of road rage on the night of Jan. 27, 2004.
According to State Police authorities investigating the incident, the three Manchester, N.H. residents engaged in an escalating back-and-forth chase stretching over a 40-mile span before the suspected case of road rage ended tragically. Although all the parties involved in the incident were of a similar age and resided in Manchester, N.H., police dismissed the idea that the three knew each other.
Bader, whose car was reportedly found crashed into a guardrail nearly 500-yards down I-93 from the car-wreck of 27-year-old Gwenne Doyle - who was the driver of the vehicle Jones was traveling in - was found by police slumped over her steering wheel with a gun shot wound to the face. The 26-year-old was later pronounced dead at the scene.
Defending the 26-year-old murder suspect against first-degree murder charges, Boston attorney Stephen Neyman claimed that Jones was cleaning the handgun when it accidentally discharged.
Neyman did not return calls to The Stoneham Independent for comment. LaGrassa also refused to comment on the outcome of the trial. Jones would have faced a life-in-prison term if he was convicted of the first degree murder charge.
"We're not going to comment on that until sentencing occurs," the spokeswoman said, when asked if her office was disappointed by the verdict issued by the jury last Friday.
Taken into custody by the State Police on the night of the incident, Jones and Doyle were arraigned in Woburn District Court the next day. According to investigators, the weapon responsible for Bader's death was allegedly found concealed on Doyle, who was transported to an area hospital for minor injuries on the night of the crash.
Jones, who pled not guilty to first degree murder and illegal possession of a firearm charges, was held without bail. Doyle, who also pled not guilty to accessory after the fact and illegal possession of a firearm, was held on $10,000 bail. Both the defendants were later indicted in Middlesex Grand Jury on March 9.
Doyle is next expected to be in court on Nov. 10.
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