Jones trial scheduled for May

A Redkey man charged with murder is now scheduled to go on trial in May.

Jay Circuit Court Judge Brian Hutchison during a pretrial hearing Friday set a trial for Cory M. Jones, 43, Redkey, for May 10. Jones is charged with the Aug. 22 murder of Shanna Jones of Dunkirk.

A final pretrial conference is scheduled for April 14.

Shanna Jones was found dead late Aug. 22 after Jay County Sheriff’s Office responded to her home at 10402 W. 400 South, Dunkirk, for a welfare check. She had been shot in the head.

According to court documents, the check came after a call from Ray Jones, the father of Cory Jones. Police say Ray Jones told them that his son said he accidentally shot Shanna Jones. He later sent his father a text saying he was “going 110 mph toward Illinois,” the documents say.

The U.S. Marshal Service’s Fugitive Task Force arrested Cory Jones in Martinsburg, West Virginia, about 75 miles west of Baltimore, three days after the shooting. While being held there awaiting extradition, Jay County officers traveled to Martinsburg to interview him. He told the officers that he had been in Florida for three weeks, according to court documents.

Court records show that Cory Jones pleaded guilty to a Class A misdemeanor charge of battery resulting in bodily injury in 2008. He also has been found guilty or pleaded guilty to felony charges of burglary (1994) and auto theft (2014).

In Indiana, murder carries a sentence of 45 to 65 years with an advisory sentence of 55 years.