March 20, 2014 at 12:00 p.m.
Four charged with attempted homicide following alleged assault on man in Forest County
Four charged with attempted homicide following alleged assault on man in Forest County
Raymond Jones, 45, April Jones, 38, Justin Bey, 21, and Samantha McClellan, 18, appeared in Forest County Circuit Court Wednesday.
In addition to the attempted first-degree homicide charges, the four are facing other felony charges including aggravated battery, false imprisonment and kidnapping. Raymond Jones, Bey and McClellan are scheduled to have adjourned initial appearances within the next week. April Jones will next appear in court April 9 for a preliminary hearing. All the defendants remain in custody in the Forest County jail.
According to the criminal complaint, the male victim who was severely injured was discovered by two ATV riders on the afternoon of March 12 near Bug Lake Road in the Crandon area. Law enforcement was contacted and the man was transported to Ministry St. Mary's Hospital in Rhinelander and later to Marshfield due to the extent of his injuries. According to hospital personnel, the man suffered multiple fractures to his facial area, including the nose, left eye socket and jaw, as well as two broken ribs. The man also had "serious frostbite" over large portions of his body, the complaint states.
The man identified the people he said assaulted him which led to law enforcement executing a search warrant at a town of Wabeno residence. In addition to Raymond Jones, April Jones, Bey and McClellan, two juveniles were also arrested.
According to the complaint, the victim, who is not from the Forest County area, met April Jones on the Internet and had been staying at the residence for a couple of weeks. He told law enforcement that he "hit a young child on the butt" and that's what prompted the assault. He admitted doing it, but told investigators he was just "playing."
Based on interviews with the defendants, the incident with the child, who was one of the juveniles arrested, occurred March 10. That same day, as well as the next, the complaint alleges the man was beaten multiple times by the defendants and forced to sleep on the floor and do chores such as cleaning the bathroom with a toothbrush. Eventually, the man was dropped off at the end of Bug Lake Road, beaten again and told to walk to a cabin just down the road, the complaint states.
In an interview with investigators, Raymond Jones admitted to beating the man and, at times, instructing others to do so. He denied other allegations, such as being the one to force the man to sleep on the floor or clean the house.
"This is what (the man) deserved for touching (the child)," he said.
According to her interview with law enforcement, April Jones said she told the others to stop beating the man and let him go, but nobody listened. She said at one point, on March 11, the man attempted to escape by running out the front door but he was chased down and brought back to the house.
Bey and McClellan also admitted to being involved in the incident, but accounts varied among the four defendants about what exactly happened. According to the complaint, the defendants each said they wanted to kill the man "the most consistent being by leaving him to the elements and having the wolves attack him due to the massive bleeding that he was suffering."
Kyle Rogers may be reached at [email protected].
Comments:
You must login to comment.