An on-duty D.C. police officer charged with murder in a street robbery gone wrong initially told supervisors that he was at police headquarters writing search warrants the night of the Dec. 1 shooting, a homicide detective told a D.C. Superior Court judge Tuesday.
But, the detective testified, Officer Reginald Jones changed his story after a suspect in the case said Jones was involved in the crime. Jones then told police that he was at the scene of the shooting, sitting in his marked patrol car. But Jones told them that he was alone, investigating a tip about illegal guns. He has denied involvement in the shooting and robbery.
Prosecutors have charged Jones, 40, a six-year member of the department, with felony murder in the shooting death of Arvel S. Alston, 40, during the robbery in the 4200 block of Fourth Street SE. One of the co-defendants, Rashun M. Parker, 27, of Temple Hills, the first of five suspects arrested in the case, identified Jones as being involved in planning to rob a suspected drug dealer. Parker has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and conspiracy.
Jones, his ankles and wrists shackled, sat next to his attorney during the three-hour hearing.
Also seated at the defense table was Arvel Crawford, 19, Alston's son. Parker has said Crawford accidentally killed Alston during a scuffle with the intended robbery victim. Police said Alston had about $4,200 in cash stuffed in his pockets.
The courtroom was filled with family members of the victim and the suspects, as well as uniformed police officers and detectives. Jones, of Upper Marlboro, was assigned to the department's narcotics and gun recovery unit.
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Also charged in the case are Jarvis Clark, 19, of Temple Hills and Lynn Daniel Wilkerson, 33, of Hyattsville.
Detective Anthony Greene testified Tuesday that police recovered from Wilkerson's home two police-issued bulletproof vests, one of which had "property of R. Jones" written inside, portable flashing red lights and a home-invasion battering ram that was marked "gun recovery unit."
Greene said the suspects discussed the plan to rob Tyrone Herring, 45, while hanging out at an auto detailing shop in Suitland owned by Wilkerson and frequented by Jones. Greene testified that detectives recovered surveillance video from the auto shop that showed Jones there, sitting at a computer, while the other men were discussing the robbery and distributing guns.
After his arrest in the shooting, Parker accompanied a detective in a stakeout of the auto shop and saw Jones drive up. Parker then identified Jones as the officer involved in the robbery's planning.
Herring, who was also shot during the robbery but suffered injuries that were not life-threatening, was charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute after police said they found 31.4 grams of crack in his pants while he was being treated for the gunshot wound at a hospital. Investigators said Herring told them that he was robbed of nearly $5,000.
According to charging documents, Parker told detectives that Jones drove his cruiser on the night of the shooting through the courtyard of the housing complex in Washington Highlands to shoo away loiterers who might see the planned robbery. He then parked his car at the end of the driveway near the complex and sat on the driver's side, the documents state.
Greene testified that the other men approached Herring at the apartment complex, struck him over the head and tried to push him into a car with Alston in the driver's seat. Herring tried to wrestle away from his attackers. During the struggle, Crawford's gun accidentally went off, striking his father in the upper right chest, according to the documents and Greene's testimony.
Attorneys for Jones and Crawford urged Judge Michael L. Rankin to release their clients, saying Parker had a criminal history and was biased because he was cooperating with prosecutors after pleading guilty. The attorneys also argued that Herring, another witness, was a known drug dealer.
Rankin said the evidence presented at the hearing was "strong" and ordered Jones and Crawford to remain held in the D.C. jail until trial. Another judge signed an order allowing Jones to be separated from other inmates.
Jones is on paid indefinite suspension, said Assistant Police Chief Michael Anzallo. Department policy is to suspend an officer's pay 30 days after felony charges are filed, Anzallo said. Jones was arrested and charged in the fatal shooting Dec. 15.
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