Prosecutor seeks death penalty in killing of Arkansas deputy

Family of victim consulted

Billy Monroe Jones
Billy Monroe Jones

FORT SMITH -- The state of Arkansas will seek the death penalty against a rural Greenwood man who is charged with killing a deputy who answered a disturbance call.

ADVERTISEMENT

More headlines

Sebastian County Prosecuting Attorney Daniel Shue informed Circuit Judge J. Michael Fitzhugh of his decision in a letter filed Monday in the court case of Billy Monroe Jones.

Jones, 35, is charged with one count of capital murder in the shooting death of Sebastian County sheriff's Deputy Bill Cooper; 10 counts of attempted capital murder in the shooting at other law enforcement officers, including Hackett Police Chief Darrell Spells, who was grazed in the head by a bullet; one count of possession of firearms by certain persons; and one count of killing or injuring animals used by law enforcement or search and rescue dogs for the wounding of Kina, the Greenwood police dog who suffered gunshot wounds while sitting in a patrol car.

Jones has pleaded innocent to the charges. A trial date has not been set.

In the letter to Fitzhugh, Shue wrote that he considered the sufficiency of the evidence tying Jones to the crimes, the seriousness of the offense, Jones' culpability and mental state, his criminal record, aggravating and mitigating circumstances, and a potential victim-impact evidence.

"After consulting with law enforcement and the victim's family and considering the above listed factors, the state of Arkansas will be seeking the death penalty at this time and I am so advising the court," the letter said.

Cooper, 66, a 15-year veteran of the sheriff's office, was fatally shot about 7:15 a.m. Aug. 10 while responding to a disturbance call on Jones' family property at 4722 S. Highway 253 in rural Sebastian County. He died six hours later in a Fort Smith hospital.

According to reports, Jones fired from inside his home through small openings using an assault-style rifle and kept at bay law enforcement officers who converged on the property in response to the report that Cooper had been shot.

Many of the officers who were fired on were in groups formed to pull Cooper and Spells from the line of fire.

Jones refused to negotiate a surrender, and a standoff lasted 4½ hours. At one point, officers sent in a robot to try to determine Jones' location, but Jones shot and disabled it, authorities said. Several law enforcement vehicles were damaged by gunfire.

Finally, an armored vehicle was backed up to Jones' front door and he surrendered.

Investigators from local, federal and state agencies searched Jones' home after his arrest and found nearly 60 spent bullet casings and 11 guns, including a Bushmaster XM15 semi-automatic rifle believed to have been used to shoot Cooper, Spells and Kina.

State Desk on 10/21/2016

Upcoming Events