Shelton Jones was sentenced to death by the State of Texas for the murder of a police officer. According to court documents Shelton Jones was pulled over by a Houston police officer for questioning however Jones would pull out a gun and fired several times at the officer striking and killing him. Shelton Jones would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Shelton Jones 2022 Information
SID Number: 04491455
TDCJ Number: 00999019
Name: JONES,SHELTON DENORIA
Race: B
Gender: M
Age: 54
Maximum Sentence Date: DEATH ROW
Current Facility: COUNTY BENCH WARRANT
Projected Release Date: DEATH ROW
Parole Eligibility Date: DEATH ROW
Shelton Jones More News
The Harris County District Attorney is once again seeking the death penalty against a convicted cop killer who won a new punishment trial nearly three decades after the slaying of a Houston police officer.
Shelton Jones was originally sent to death row for the April 1991 murder of Officer Bruno D. Soboleski, but a federal district court overturned his sentence in light of bad jury instructions.
“We put police officers in harm’s way to protect us from violence, and it is our duty to forever protect society from this killer,” District Attorney Kim Ogg said in a statement Monday. “Sgt. Soboleski’s family was forever changed by this horrific attack, and no matter how long it takes, Jones deserves the ultimate punishment.”
The night of the slaying, Soboleski was on patrol and driving in his squad car with a grand juror when he spotted two men at the intersection of Calhoun and Hull near the University of Houston.
Soboleski stopped the pair, though it’s not entirely clear why. As he searched them, Jones pulled out a 9mm pistol and started shooting, according to court records. After the officer fell to the pavement, Jones shot him again, then fled with his confederate.
Afterward, a third man opened fire, getting off six rounds but missing the officer. Instead, he shot up the lawman’s patrol car where the grand juror was trying to radio for help.
The grand juror escaped unscathed, while Soboleski lingered in the hospital for five days, undergoing multiple surgeries before dying in intensive care.
Longtime Harris County District Attorney Johnny Holmes prosecuted the case personally, winning a guilty verdict and a death sentence.
But for nearly three decades, Jones has fought his sentence, raising a slew of concerns including claims about the effects of widespread publicity and police presence in the courtroom.
The media coverage at the time included a letter to the editor suggesting Jones be hung from a “tall tree” with a “short rope,” according to court filings. He tried for a change of venue in light of the press, and later argued that the 15 to 25 officers in the courtroom had prejudiced jurors, implicitly demanding a guilty verdict with their presence.
At one point, Jones also asked for additional funding for investigative findings and discovery, but the courts determined that they weren’t “reasonably necessary.” Even though the courts denied his appeals on those grounds, Jones won a new punishment phase over on bad jury instructions.
And, since life without parole was not a sentencing option at the time of his crime, Jones could be eligible for parole some day if the jury rejects a death sentence, Ogg said. Defense attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment.