TRUMBULL COUNTY Judge orders dismissal of charges against man

The charges can be refiled if the victim decides to testify.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES -- A municipal court judge dismissed charges of kidnapping and burglary against a city man after the victim failed to appear to testify.
Jon Jones, 29, who lists a Fulton Street address as his home, was ordered to be released Wednesday from the Trumbull County Jail by Niles Municipal Judge Thomas W. Townley. Jones had been in custody at the county jail since an Aug. 19 situation where a city woman accused him of entering her home, holding her captive and beating her.
Court records show Jones was originally scheduled to appear in court Monday, but the case was continued after the woman failed to show for the preliminary hearing.
Since Monday morning, police officers and the court's bailiff tried to find the woman to serve her with a subpoena to testify, but were unsuccessful. Records indicate the woman moved from her Fulton Street home and left no forwarding address.
Release orders issued
When the victim again failed to appear Wednesday morning, Judge Townley issued orders to the county jail to release Jones. The charges were dismissed without prejudice, however, meaning they can be refiled if the woman decides to again press charges.
According to reports, the woman told police she woke up the morning of Aug. 19 and found Jones, whom she identified as her ex-boyfriend and the father of her children, hiding in her bathroom.
When she entered the bathroom shortly after 5 a.m., she found Jones in the bathtub, hiding behind the shower curtain, reports said.
The woman told police she tried to leave, but Jones grabbed her hair and threw her to the floor. She tried to scream but he covered her mouth and continued to beat her and held the woman captive all day, reports said.
According to reports, friends of the woman's arrived at the house, discovered the situation and called police. Jones was arrested at the scene about 4:30 p.m.
slshaulis@vindy.com