Mike Anthony Jones Jr. testified in his own defense on Feb. 19, saying he was very close to the victim – his grandfather, William Pray – but was forced to fatally shoot the man in self defense.
Jones, charged with second-degree murder with a firearm, told the court he and his grandfather went fishing, cooked and shot guns together. He said they had “a good relationship.”
Pray was a convicted felon and thus could not posses, own or be around firearms. The victim’s wife – Jones’ grandmother, Selia Pray – testified for the defense on Feb. 18 and said she purchased guns for her husband.
During his testimony, Jones also refuted earlier testimony that he had a smirk on his face when he stood over his grandfather and shot him in the head the day after Christmas 2022. Jones told the court he did not smirk and denied standing over his grandfather.
“I love my grandfather,” Jones told the court, adding he did not want to kill him.
Recapping the case
If found guilty at trial, Jones could face life in prison.
Prosecutors say Jones murdered his grandfather during a family dispute. The defense says the shooting was self-defense.
Jones, 26, was arrested in late December 2022 and has been at the county jail since then. The shooting occurred in the 2900 block of Northeast 163rd Lane in Citra.
Pray was shot in the head, chest, right bicep and right rib cage area. The doctor who performed the autopsy testified that the head shot was the most lethal wound.
A witness told the court that Jones stood over his grandfather, smirked and shot him in the head. The medical examiner could not say whether the shooter was standing over Pray when that shot was fired.
Jury selection began Feb. 16. Four women and three men, with one alternate, are hearing the case.
Assistant State Attorneys Janine Nixon and Lillian Rozsa are prosecuting the case. Jones is represented by John Klein. Melody Hoover, a paralegal, is assisting Klein.
Defendant’s testimony
Jones said they were together as a family at his grandparents’ home around Christmas in 2022 when his grandfather threatened to kill them. Jones said they decided to leave and go to his parents’ home.
Returning on Dec. 26, Jones said, his grandfather was angry and upset when he saw them on the property. Jones said Pray aggressively approached him at least twice, even though he did not say or do anything to him. Jones said he got in his father’s vehicle and left.
Jones said his father called him. He said someone hit his wife. Jones said he turned around so he could back to the home “to diffuse the situation.” As he was racing to get to his grandparents’ home, Jones said, he heard someone say he has a gun.
Assuming that the “he” was a reference to his grandfather, Jones said he tried to find a gun in the vehicle. Before arriving at the home, Jones said, he did find a loaded gun in the vehicle.
When he got to the home, he testified, he got out and “sprinted” toward the back gate, busting it open.
There, he said, he saw his father on the ground and his mother over him. Fearing the worst, Jones said, he saw his grandfather and fired shots at him.
Jones said he stopped firing when his grandfather stopped moving.
Prosecutor quizzes Jones
Questioned by prosecutor Nixon on cross-examination, Jones said he did not hear gunshots when he was coming to his grandparents’ home. In fact, before he left the home earlier that day, Jones said his grandfather at one point had emptied his pockets and showed he had nothing.
Jones said he has never reported to law enforcement that his grandfather had hit him in the past.
Questioned more about the shooting, Jones said he saw something in his grandfather’s hand, which was by his side. Other testimony has established that Pray was holding a bottle of cologne.
Jones said he doesn’t remember how many times he fired at his grandfather. He said he was not at the home when his mother and grandfather had their disagreement.
With the shooting, Jones said he was acting based on what he heard on the phone.
Defendant’s mother testifies
Tammieka Jones, the defendant’s mother, testified that she called Pray (her mother’s husband) Pappa. She said her son and Pappa had “a close relationship.”
Jones talked about the disagreement that led to them leaving her mother’s residence on Christmas Day and going to her home. She said they went to her mother’s residence the next day to get her mother’s belongings because her grandfather had put them outside.
She said her mother called law enforcement to come to the home. Jones said Pappa kept charging at her son, who wasn’t provoking him.
Jones said she and Pappa were arguing over the gate as they were pushing it back and forth. She said Pappa punched her in the face and she tried kicking him.
Jones said her son’s father pulled out his gun and pointed it at Pappa. She said when she and her mother tried to take the gun from him, he passed out.
As they were trying to wake him up, Jones said, she heard gunshots. Once the shots stopped, she saw Pappa on the ground. Then, she heard her son admitting to shooting Pray.
Cross-examined by Nixon, Jones said Pappa was known to carry a knife. She said she doesn’t remember if Pappa had a knife on the day of the shooting. She also didn’t know how Pappa got the firearms.
Jones told the court that Pappa never touched or threatened anyone with any weapons. But, she said, he was an intimidating person.
“I did not want him dead. We just wanted him to leave the property,” an emotional Jones said during her testimony.
More questioning
Jones’ father, Mike Jones Sr., took the stand and said the victim was known to shoot guns in the air when he was upset.
He said he pointed his gun at Pray when he heard Pray had hit his wife. He said he passed out when his mother and his son’s mother tried to take the firearm from him.
He said he was talking to his son before the shooting and he doesn’t remember hanging up the phone.
Nixon questioned the elder Jones about the incident. He told the court that Pray came at his son with a knife, though he could not describe it.
He said he wasn’t at the spot where his wife was hit, and doesn’t remember who told him that had happened.
He said he did not hear his son telling a sheriff’s deputy he did it, even though one of the videos shown in court indicated the men were standing close to each other when the defendant said he shot Pray.
The defense closed its case after the defendant’s testimony. The judge dismissed jurors for the day and told the lawyers to work on jury instructions.
Klein said he’ll probably need an hour for his closing argument. Prosecutors present their argument first, followed by the defense, and then the state gets the last word since it has the burden of proof.
Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Ocala murder trial: Man testifies he shot grandfather in self-defense
Reporting by Austin L. Miller, Ocala Star-Banner / Ocala Star-Banner
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
