Man convicted in 2002 slaying in Richmond

A homicide case pending for seven years ended last night with a conviction for first-degree murder that could send a longtime criminal to prison for as long as 40 years.

"This was a major victory," Deputy Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney Learned D. Barry said of defendant Antonio J. Jones after court.

A seven-man, five-woman jury in Richmond Circuit Court took more than five hours to decide the "cold case," after which it recommended a 37-year sentence on the murder conviction plus a mandatory three years for a firearms conviction.

Judge Bradley B. Cavedo set Oct. 26 for formal sentencing.

Jones, 30, a former football star at Manchester High School, was charged with gunning down a drug connection in November 2002. Jarone Staton, 20, suffered a single gunshot to the head from a .38-caliber revolver.

Barry credited Richmond police Detective James P. Baynes with unraveling a case that fell apart in 2003 when a witness disappeared. The person has never been located.

In court yesterday, a woman testified she watched Jones shoot Staton while Staton sat in a car in the Blue Ridge Estates complex off Midlothian Turnpike near Carnation Street.

Another witness, Dominick Hicks, said he had given Jones a ride to the complex for a marijuana deal, and Hicks' mother, Sabrina, testified that she heard Jones brag two years ago about killing a man in the apartment community over a failed drug deal.

Defense attorney David Lassiter attacked prosecution witnesses as giving descriptions of the shooter that didn't match Jones, and he said there was no physical evidence linking Jones to the shooting.

Jones has a long history of convictions in the Richmond area, ranging from grand larceny to felony hit and runs; he is currently serving time for a federal drug conviction.

Defense witnesses, though, described Jones as an even-tempered man who held down several jobs and has been a good father to his two young children.

Contact Bill McKelway at (804) 649-6601 or .