Federal prisoner at Springfield facility convicted of murder, attempted murder, may receive death penalty

(From the U. S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri)

An inmate serving a life sentence at the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield was convicted by a federal trial jury today of murdering one inmate and attempting to murder another inmate.

Ulysses Jones, Jr., 61, an inmate serving a life sentence at the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, was found guilty of one count of first degree murder, one count of murder by a federal prisoner serving a life term, and one count of assaulting another inmate with the intention of killing him.

Evidence introduced during the trial indicated that Jones murdered Timothy Baker, an inmate who was sleeping when attacked and was taking sleeping medication, by stabbing him to death on Jan. 9, 2006. Jones also attempted to kill another inmate, identified in court documents as “R.R.,’ by stabbing him multiple times with a sharpened piece of metal (also known as a “shank”).

Inmates at the facility suspected Jones and another inmate were stealing from them. Baker confronted Jones about the thefts over a period of several days. On Jan. 8, 2006, the day before his murder, Baker and 10 other inmates signed a petition that accused Jones and the other inmate of the thefts and asked that they be removed from the unit.

At approximately 3 a.m. on Jan. 9, 2006, Jones took a self-made shank and went to Baker’s bed. While Baker was sleeping, Jones stabbed him in the chest. According to the autopsy, the first blow was the fatal one. Baker leapt up, took a few steps forward, then fell to floor face down. Jones then jumped on Baker’s back and stabbed him at least four more times. Jones turned to R.R., who was still in bed, and began stabbing him. R.R. attempted to fend Jones off, but sustained multiple injuries. By this time, the other prisoners’ yelling had caused the guards to come to the ward.

Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Springfield, Mo., deliberated for about an hour and 45 minutes before returning the guilty verdicts to U.S. Chief District Judge Greg Kays, ending the guilt phase portion of the trial that began Monday, Sept. 25, 2017.

The penalty phase of the trial will commence this afternoon. Jurors will sentence Jones to either life in federal prison without parole, or death.

This case is being prosecuted by Capital Case Section-Criminal Division Trial Attorney James D. Peterson of the United States Department of Justice and Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Randall D. Eggert and Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Mohlhenrich of the Western District of Missouri. It was investigated by the FBI and the Bureau of Prisons.