Man gets life in prison for double homicide

Harvey Lee Jones maintains he’s innocent; victim’s mother yells that Jones is a liar

The mother of Carly Hughley told Harvey Lee Jones that he “won’t see the day until you are in a wooden box” before Jones was sentenced to two consecutive life in prison terms without the possibility of parole. Jones also received another 52 years for the aggravated murders of Hughley and Demetrius Beckwith.

RELATED: Jury recommends life in prison for Jones

Montgomery County Common Pleas Court Judge Steven Dankof later called for a recess when Delsia Taylor screamed at Jones, who had turned to the gallery to address the victims’ families.

“That guy you just talked about and said all that bad stuff to, that’s not me at all,” Jones said Monday during his sentencing. “I’ve been standing by my innocence since Day 1 and I’m going to continue to stand by it.”

At that point, Taylor raised her voice and said, “Let me just tell you this — you shut the hell up,” later yelling. “You liar. …”

Taylor had to be restrained and escorted from the courtroom. After the recess, Dankof ordered Jones to only face the bench to finish his comments and warned the gallery he would clear the courtroom if there was another outburst.

Jones, 37, said it was not his intention to “get everybody riled up,” but that he was innocent and was “going to fight the fight until I get out.” Jones was credited with 1,370 days of jail-time credit.

A jury of eight women and four men found Jones guilty of the two aggravated homicides plus kidnapping, aggravated burglary and aggravated robbery. Dankof found Jones guilty of two counts of having weapons under disability and repeat violent offender specifications.

The Jan. 24, 2013, shooting of his ex-girlfriend Hughley, 32, and Beckwith, 29, happened in front of Hughley’s then 10-year-old son, who watched from a stairway in their Harrison Twp. apartment.

The jury decided against the death penalty after the mitigation phase of his double homicide case, instead recommending life in prison with no parole.

“There are absolutely no words that can express the pain, the anguish our family and friends have endured since the murder of our Carly and her friend, Demetrius, also known as Fat Boy,” Taylor said during her victim impact statement before the recess. “My family is broken. We continue to try and heal.”

Taylor also told Jones that he’ll be surrounded by four walls in a “five by eight” cell and that he “won’t see the day until you are in a wooden box,” she said. “And I am good with that.”

Beckwith’s fiance, Tiffani Jackson, said she forgives Jones. Jackson expressed her gratitude to the police, prosecutors, the judge and jury.

Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck Jr. gave a statement via a press release.

“This defendant had been out of prison for less than a year after serving nearly 10 years in prison for aggravated burglary and attempted rape,” the statement said. “He executed two victims in cold blood. Spending the rest of his life behind bars is a suitable and well deserved punishment for this violent and dangerous person.”

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