The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office arrested a second suspect in the death of Belle Glade grocery store owner Jimmy McMillan, after he was identified by the mother of the alleged shooter.
Jonathan Jones now joins Corey Graham Jr. in the Palm Beach County Jail on charges related to McMillan's death on January 2, with Graham fingered by the cops as the shooter, and Jones facing multiple charges as an alleged accomplice.
Around 6:30 a.m. on January 2, Graham went into McMillan's Alabama Georgia Grocery Store in Belle Glade with a gun and demanded money, according to a probable-cause affidavit.
McMillan complied with Graham's requests, but police say Graham shot and killed him anyway.
Jones was captured on the store's surveillance video about eight minutes before McMillan was killed, but denied involvement in the shooting when questioned by detectives.
On Saturday, Graham was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, but he denied knowing anyone by the name of Jonathan Jones.
On Monday, however, detectives went to Graham's mother's house to interview her about threats she's been getting at her house.
She told detectives she'd found a gun in Graham's bedroom two days after the murder, although police note that the description of the gun came from anonymous tips.
Graham's mom took the gun from his room, and when Graham discovered it was missing, he told his mother to give it back because it belonged to Jones. Graham's mother noted that the boys had been "homeboys" since grade school.
She then eavesdropped on a conversation between the two after she refused to hand the gun over, at which point she heard Jones say he was "going to fuck her up and the family," according to the police report.
Jones was arrested yesterday afternoon, and was charged with just about everything they could charge him with -- accessory after the fact to first-degree murder, tampering with evidence, tampering with a witness, and possession of a weapon by a "previously adjudicated delinquent."
Jones was also arrested in late 2010 on a murder charge, but that charge was suddenly dropped earlier this year and he was released from jail. The Palm Beach State Attorney's Office tells us it's looking into finding the documents related to that.
Graham's mother also told the cops she believed Jones "has committed several shootings and a murder in Belle Glade," although police didn't expand on that.
Both men are being held without bond.
New Times on Facebook | The Pulp on Facebook | Matthew Hendley on Facebook | Twitter | E-mail Matthew Hendley |
