In what was supposed to be a simple transaction to purchase a new phone, 21-year-old James Jones Jr. found himself the victim of a fatal setup. On a Monday evening in February 2015, the Clark Atlanta University junior, who was studying chemistry with aspirations of becoming a doctor, responded to a Craigslist advertisement for an iPhone 6. He drove to a residence on Jamaica Cove in Marietta, Georgia, expecting to meet the sellers and make his purchase.
The ad, however, was a deception, posted with the sole intention of luring an unsuspecting buyer to be robbed.
Upon his arrival, Jones was confronted by three men who proceeded to rob him. The encounter quickly escalated to deadly violence. After stealing his cellphone, one of the assailants, Kaylnn Ruthenberg, shot Jones with a. 45-caliber handgun. As Jones lay dying, Ruthenberg ordered one of his accomplices to take the Nike shoes from his feet before he callously shot him a second time. Officers who were initially responding to a report of a possible car crash discovered Jones deceased in the driver's seat of his vehicle from a gunshot wound.
Within a day of the senseless killing, Marietta police arrested three suspects: 18-year-old Jordan Baker, 19-year-old Jonathon Myles, and 21-year-old Kaylnn Ruthenberg. They were all subsequently charged with felony murder, armed robbery, and aggravated assault. The investigation revealed that Ruthenberg was an associate of the Crips street gang.
In November 2017, Kaylnn Ruthenberg was convicted of murder, aggravated assault, and other charges. He received a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus an additional 25 years. In March 2018, Jordan Baker and Jonathon Myles, who had both testified against Ruthenberg during his trial, accepted a plea deal. They pleaded guilty to armed robbery, robbery by force, and two gang-related charges, thereby avoiding murder convictions. Both men were sentenced to 30 years, with the stipulation that they serve 20 years in prison, followed by probation.
