Michael Clemente, 19, and Aaron Christopher Bowen, 18, both of Fort Smith, Ark., and Heather Jones, 19, of Van Buren, Ark, were charged earlier this year with first-degree murder in connection to the death of Jones’s one-year-old daughter. Jones drove Bowen and Clemente to Devin Jeremiah’s house north of Roland on Feb. 27 where Jones’ daughter was fatally shot.
On Monday as defense attorneys prepared to cross-examine Sequoyah County Sheriff Investigator Eric Helms, Clemente and Bowen sat somberly in their orange jail suits. Jones who was wearing street clothes, smiled and giggled at another girl who was sitting diagonally in a bench behind her. Shortly after the preliminary hearing reconvened, Jones sat quietly beside her defense lawyer Monte Johnson. John David Luton, first assistant district attorney said Helms testified the whole day on Monday.
On Tuesday, Special Agent Robert Walden of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) testified that he took a statement from Clemente shortly after the incident detailing what happened on Feb. 27.
Walden testified that Clemente said as he ran out of the house he heard a couple of gun shots, got into the car and felt broken glass. Walden testified that the statement taken from Clemente said, “the baby started crying and I noticed blood on her neck. She quit crying and we were trying to keep her awake.”
Luton said Walden testified that Clemente told him that he (Clemente) lied during his first statement taken about the trio’s intention to protect Bowen. Originally, the story was that Jones drove Clemente and Bowen to Jeremiah’s because Bowen wanted to purchase drugs from Jeremiah. Jones agreed to give Bowen and Clemente a ride to Jeremiah’s residence to purchase drugs.
“Clemente basically said he and Bowen contacted Jeremiah to buy meth. They had bought pills and meth from Jeremiah before. Jones drove him over there and Bowen and Clemente went inside, punched and elbowed Jeremiah. Jeremiah allegedly had drugs on the table. Bowen and Clemente grabbed a quarter bag of methamphetamine, two rifles and $100,” Walden testified.
Tyler Hughes, who is Bowen’s stepbrother, testified June 22 that he rode with the trio to Devin Jeremiah’s home on Feb. 26, the night before the death of Jones’s daughter. Hughes was cross-examined by defense attorneys Monte Johnson, John Echols, Gretchen Mosley, Craig Corgan and Corbin Brewster. The defense attorneys have asked that Hughes’ testimony be stricken from the record due to inconsistencies and the fact the witness was not there the night of the incident.
Sallisaw attorney Monte Johnson is representing Jones. Oklahoma Indigent Defense System (OIDS) attorneys John Echols and Gretchen Mosley are defending Clemente and OIDS attorneys Craig Corgan and Corbin Brewster represent Bowen. Luton and John Sawney are prosecuting the case.
Clemente, Bowen, and Jones are charged with first-degree murder in connection to the Feb. 27 death of Jones’s daughter Elaine Keene. The trio is also charged with first-degree burglary, conspiracy to commit first-degree burglary, robbery by two or more persons, conspiracy to commit robbery by two or more persons and child neglect. Jones posted a $25,000 bond on March 23 and is currently out on bond. Clemente and Bowen are being held in the Sequoyah County Jail without bond.
Jeremiah’s preliminary hearing was scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday but because Bowen, Jones, and Clemente’s preliminary hearing is still underway, Jeremiah’s preliminary was rescheduled. Jeremiah is being defended by court appointed attorneys Bill Ordendorff and Dan George. The date was unavailable at Your TIMES press time. Jeremiah is being charged with second-degree murder and two counts of shooting with intent to kill charges.
