Man pleads not guilty to 1994 Renton murders

Jerome Frank Jones, 53, charged with the 1994 murders of a mother and her son, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment on May 9.

Jones faces two counts of aggravated murder in the first degree for the Oct. 28, 1994, shooting deaths of Stacy Ann Falcon-Dewey, 23, and her 3-year-old son Jacob.

Based on the Renton Police Department’s investigations surrounding the murders using DNA evidence, King County prosecutors charged Jones for the murders of Falcon-Dewey and Jacob on Feb. 15, 2022.

Currently in custody at the Washington State Department of Corrections, the King County Superior Court filed for Jones’s extradition from the Kern Valley State Prison in California to stand for court proceedings in King County. Jones showed in person at his May 9 arraignment in King County Superior Court.

Investigation

On Oct. 28, 1994, a Seattle Times newspaper deliverer dialed 911 at around 3:30 a.m. and reported the discovery of a dead woman on South 55th Street in Renton.

Renton officers responded to the scene and found Falcon-Dewey and Jacob lying dead in the middle of the roadway next to her 1984 Buick Century with gunshot wounds.

The King County Medical Examiner’s Office determined Stacy suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the back of her head, two additional gunshot wounds to her left arm and left shoulder, blunt force lacerations to her head, and bruising and linear abrasions to her neck.

Jacob suffered two gunshot wounds to his head, one at close range.

The medical examiner determined both Falcon-Dewey and Jacob died as a result of homicide.

For several years, the investigation efforts of Renton detectives led nowhere, with no arrests nor conclusive suspects identified, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

In 2001, advancements in DNA testing led to the submission of evidence from the scene to the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab for testing. In 2002, the lab detected semen on the oral swabs taken from Falcon-Dewey’s body.

They matched the unknown male DNA with Jones in the convicted felon database, previously convicted for murder and incarcerated in California since 1998.

Jones

Approximately five months after the murders of Falcon-Dewey and Jacob, Jones shot a man to death in California in March of 1995 prior to fleeing to Seattle, according to court documents. Law enforcement arrested Jones in Seattle and held him at the King County Jail.

In custody, Jones assaulted a corrections officer and received a conviction of assault in the second degree in 1996. Following the assault conviction, California extradited Jones to stand trial for murder for the March 1995 shooting death, according to court documents.

Jones held a history of several felony assaults and convictions in both California and Washington.

In 1998, a jury trial convicted Jones of murder in the first degree, leading to his imprisonment in California.

Renton detectives flew to California to interview Jones at the Salinas Valley State Prison after the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab discovered the matching male DNA profile in 2002.

Jones admitted to detectives he lived in the Kent-Auburn area from 1994 to 1995, though he said he never knew Falcon-Dewey when questioned and shown a picture of her, according to the affidavit.

Detectives confirmed with an apartment manager that a person named Jerome Jones lived in an apartment complex where Falcon-Dewey left her son with a friend the evening prior to the discovery of her and her son deceased.

The Washington State Patrol Crime Lab continued to test evidence items as advancements in DNA identification continued.

In December 2021, investigators learned the crime lab detected semen on the sleeve of Jacob’s jacket at the time of his murder. Based on the male DNA profile developed from the sperm, the likelihood of the DNA profile originating from Jones instead of an unrelated individual selected at random from the U.S. population is 3.6 nonillion, according to the affidavit.

The King County Clerk’s Office filed a felony warrant for Jones’s arrest immediately after prosecutors filed charges. In Jones’s charging documents, prosecutors report Jones allegedly bound Falcon-Dewey, beat her, orally raped her and likely shot her child to death in front of her prior to killing her.

On April 28, 2023, following his extradition from the Kern Valley State Prison, the King County Sheriff’s Office booked Jones into the King County jail.

Court

Judge Johanna Bender oversaw Jones’s arraignment on May 9 in King County Superior Court, with David Ventura Montes and Miranda Maurmann representing Jones’s defense team, and deputy prosecuting attorney Don Raz representing the state.

Prosecutors filed an omnibus application, motioning for the court to schedule a confession procedure, providing Jones the opportunity to testify and provide a statement to the court — subject to cross-examination and use of his statement as admissible evidence.

The court scheduled Jones’s trial date for Aug. 21, with his omnibus hearing scheduled for July 17. Jones will remain in custody on a no-bail hold. Trial dates are often pushed out as attorneys from either side can ask for more time to prepare the case.

According to court documents, in the event Jones receives a conviction on the charges, he will face a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.