Former city fire captain not guilty of felonies in battering case
Jun. 24—On June 17, a jury found a former Logansport Fire Department captain and former owner of the Old Style Inn guilty of a misdemeanor stemming from an incident on New Year's Day 2018.
Scott Jones, 56, of Logansport, was also found not guilty of two felonies: Level 5 criminal confinement and Level 6 domestic battery resulting in moderate bodily injury.
Jones had been accused of battering his estranged wife on the morning of Jan. 1, 2018.
Cass Superior Court I Judge James Muehlhausen has set 2 p.m. Aug. 12, as the sentencing date for the Class A misdemeanor interference with the reporting of a crime, of which the jury found him guilty.
A Class A misdemeanor carries a sentence of up to one year in jail and a possible fine of up to $5,000.
Now that Jones has been cleared of the felonies, there's still a matter of whether his employment with the fire department could be reinstated and whether he should be compensated for back pay.
The matter came up at Monday's City Council special meeting but wasn't discussed.
"I asked the mayor," said Councilman Carl McPherson. "He said he's working on it."
McPherson estimates the cost will be about $150,000 to $200,000 because of medical insurance and retirement matches not made.
Mayor Chris Martin stated by email, "no comment on this topic at this time."
City Council President Dave Morris said that the matter is the Board of Works' and city attorney's legal responsibility, not the council's.
It was the Board of Works and Public Safety that voted to withhold Jones' pay about a month after he'd been formally charged.
The board members first put Jones on paid administrative leave on Jan. 3, 2018, pending further review, according to Pharos-Tribune archives.
Then on Feb. 7, 2018, the Board of Works voted to withhold Jones' salary starting May 1 of that year, although he'd continue to be eligible for health insurance with the city's share of the payments withheld.
Then-mayor Dave Kitchell said at that time that the Board of Works would reserve the right — under state law — to reinstate Jones as a firefighter and with "full salary if he's acquitted of all his charges and lesser included offenses."
Kitchell said at that February 2018 meeting that his recommendation to withhold salary came after reviewing the facts in Jones' case, the fire department's code of conduct and state statutes and after consulting legal counsel.
It was about a year after the city gave Jones administrative leave that the restaurant he owned shut down.
On Jan. 2, 2019, a post on Facebook announced that the Old Style Inn, 219 S. Sixth St., would be closed until further notice, according to the Pharos-Tribune archives.
A sign on the door said the same, and the restaurant's webpage was also taken down that day.
Jones had owned the restaurant since 1995 and gave it an extensive facelift in 2013 — including a beer garden in back — and an expanded menu.
The restaurant recently reopened this month under a new owner, Perry Rennewanz.
According to court records, Indiana State Police handled the case against Jones after estranged wife, Beth Jones, was at the emergency room of Logansport Memorial Hospital on Jan. 1, 2018.
She'd told police that she woke up at 6 a.m. and found the house without power, and she saw out the window that neighbors still had power.
A person came into the house with a flashlight and shined it in her face, and she recognized Jones when he asked for her cellphone and kept it.
She accused Jones of pulling her through the house by her ponytail and hitting her in the head with something blunt.
Police reports stated that she had a laceration to the head that required two staples and had minor injuries on her right knee consistent with being pulled across concrete.
She also told police they'd been separated for three weeks and that she told him she wanted a divorce on Dec. 31, 2017. She also told police that he had been verbally abusive before but never physically abusive.
The defense attorney for Jones, Kristina L. Lynn of Wabash, did not respond to multiple attempts to contact her.
Logansport City Attorney Kelly Leeman and Fire Chief Rick Bair also did not return calls.
Reach James D. Wolf Jr. at james.wolf@pharostribune.com or 574-732-5117
Twitter @JamesDWolfJr
