A Rosedale man was found guilty of second-degree murder and related crimes for fatally shooting his 4-year-old son and wounding his 1-year-old daughter and the children’s mother on Christmas Eve 2024.
Mark Jones Jr. stood between his two attorneys and did not visibly react to the verdict. Baltimore County Circuit Judge Dennis Robinson Jr. scheduled sentencing for Sept. 11.
The jury deliberated for about 20 hours over three days, including one that went until almost 10:30 p.m.
Prosecutors alleged that Jones, 31, fatally shot his son, Jacobi, and wounded his daughter, Peyton, and mother of his children, Promyss Marcelle, inside the Ross Ridge Apartment Homes on Breslin Court in Rosedale.
Jones, they asserted, then shot himself.
“Every pull of that trigger is a choice,” Assistant State’s Attorney Madison Frank said in her closing argument.
“He made his choice,” she added. “He made it over and over and over again.”
Frank said the couple had a toxic relationship before the fatal shooting.
Marcelle begged Jones to leave the apartment that morning so she and the children could spend Christmas in peace but he refused, Frank said. When Marcelle indicated that she would not stop seeking child support, he carried out the shooting, Frank said.
But Assistant Public Defender Erin Cullinan said Baltimore County Police jumped to the conclusion within minutes that her client was the shooter.
“The die has been cast,” Cullinan said in her closing argument.
Jones, she said, told first-responders that the two tussled over the gun.
Meanwhile, Marcelle testified to a “wildly inconsistent set of facts” and would do anything to get Jones out of the apartment, Cullinan added.
The jury acquitted Jones of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder.
Outside the courtroom, Frank, who prosecuted the case with Deputy State’s Attorney Lisa Dever, and Marcelle embraced. She wore a T-shirt featuring a photo of her son with angel wings.
In an interview, Marcelle said she was nervous as deliberations continued over multiple days. She said words could not express how happy she was with the outcome.
“I feel like I got justice,” Marcelle said. “And I’m not finished.”
“But I got justice for Jacobi. And that’s what matters the most,” she added.
At a memorial service held at March Life Tribute Center in Randallstown last year, mourners recalled the 4-year-old’s bright smile, curiosity and love of dinosaurs. TurnAround Inc. dedicated its crisis center in Dundalk as the “Jacobi Center” in his memory.
The Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office had been seeking life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Since his arrest, Jones has been held without bail in the Baltimore County Detention Center.
Comments
Welcome to The Banner's subscriber-only commenting community. Please review our community guidelines.