Murder suspect waives right to jury trial

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

A man accused of murdering his 84-year-old grandmother has waived his right to a jury trial, according to Van Wert County Common Pleas Court documents.

Shawn Jones, 37, of Van Wert, made the request through his attorney, Scott Gordon, and it was approved during a brief hearing held Monday before Judge Charles D. Steele.

Jones’ waiver of his right to a jury trial means his trial, which is scheduled to begin October 17, will be briefer and much less expensive for the county. It will be briefer and less expensive because there will be no need to select a jury, and no expense to feed and pay jurors as well.

Court Reporter Dennis Kimmet said the trial would probably only take a day to conduct, noting that Jones does not have any witnesses scheduled to testify on his behalf at this point. However, Jones could still change his mind and request a jury trial in the case, while a possibility also exists of a plea negotiation in the case.

Jones was charged with murdering Edna LaRue, his elderly grandmother, on October 1, 2010, at her Sunrise Court residence.

Jones confessed to the murder, noting that he strangled LaRue in a fit of anger when she would not let him borrow her vehicle. According to Jones’ confession, he strangled his grandmother with an electrical cord and left her lying in her home still alive after the incident.

An attempt by Gordon to have the confession ruled inadmissible in court was unsuccessful, while Jones has also been found competent to stand trial twice following assessments by Court Diagnostics in Toledo, which does court-ordered competency evaluations, as well as psychologist Jeffrey Smalldon of Columbus, who was brought in at the request of Gordon.

An independent assessment of DNA evidence in the case was also conducted at the request of Gordon. The DNA assessment and second competency assessment both led to delays in the case. The case had originally been scheduled to go to trial in March, but was later moved back to August before a second postponement to October.

Jones remains in jail on a $500,000 cash bond.