JONES FOUND GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS FROM 2022 QUADRUPLE MURDER
DAKOTA COUNTY, NE – After 10 days of trial, the jury spent just over seven hours over Wednesday night and Thursday morning to reach a verdict on the 10 felony charges 44 year-old Jason Jones is facing in Dakota County in Nebraska.
Jason Jones has been found guilty on all four counts of 1st-degree murder for the shooting and killing 86-year-old Gene Twiford, his wife 85-year-old Janet Twiford and their 55-year-old daughter Dana Twiford, and 53-year-old Michele Ebeling in their Laurel, Nebraska homes in the early morning hours of August 4, 2022, then setting each home on fire.
Jones’s defense team was seeking lesser charges for the murders, saying Jones was suffering from a “mental break” at the time he killed the Twifords and it was not premeditated, which is a requirement for the 1st-degree murder charge.
A conviction of 1st-degree murder carries the possibility of the death sentence in Nebraska, which the state has said they will seek if convicted. The jury will move into a new hearing, where they will decide if there were aggravating circumstances that would warrant the death penalty.
The jury was handed the case for deliberation on Wednesday afternoon.
Here is how the jury ruled for each charge:
1st-degree murder of Michele Ebeling: GUILTY
1st-degree murder of Gene Twiford: GUILTY
1st-degree murder of Janet Twiford: GUILTY
1st-degree murder of Dana Twiford: GUILTY
2nd-degree arson (Ebeling home): GUILTY (initially charged with 1st-degree arson)
2nd-degree arson (Twiford home): GUILTY (initially charged with 1st-degree arson)
Count 1 use of a firearm to commit a felony: GUILTY
Count 2 use of a firearm to commit a felony: GUILTY
Count 3 use of a firearm to commit a felony: GUILTY
Count 4 use of a firearm to commit a felony: GUILTY
A 1st-degree murder conviction means Jones will either spend life in prison, or he can receive the death penalty, which the state did move to an aggravating circumstances hearing following the verdict and the trial moved to its second phase.
In Nebraska, the trial jury also hears the aggravating circumstances and decides if those circumstances were met. If the jury unanimously decides any of the aggravating circumstances were met, the case becomes eligible for the death penalty and a three-judge panel then decides if a convicted individual is sentenced to death.
If the jury does not find aggravating circumstances were met, Jones would spend the rest of his life in prison.
The Nebraska State Attorney General’s Office released a statement following the two decisions on Thursday. It read in part:
The Nebraska Attorney General’s Office is pleased with the outcome and thanks the jury for their hard work in this case. This case was investigated and prosecuted by the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office with the assistance of the Nebraska State Patrol, the Nebraska State Fire Marshal’s Office, and the Cedar County Sheriff’s Office.
Jones’s trial was moved from Cedar County where the crime happened, to Dakota County after Judge Meismer ruled it would be difficult for Jones to get a fair trial from the jury pool there. Jones remains absent from the courtroom for the duration of the trial. A July ruling from the court granted his request to not appear in person for trial proceedings because Jones cannot sit for long periods following burn injuries he sustained the night of the shootings.
Jones’s wife, Carrie Jones, faces charges related to the murders. She had pleaded not guilty to 1st-degree murder, tampering with evidence, and being an accessory to a felony. Her next hearing is set for November in Cedar County District Court.
SOUTH DAKOTA STUDENTS SELECTED AS SEMIFINALISTS FOR NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP
SOUTH DAKOTA Undated – 41 students from South Dakota have been selected as semifinalists for the National Merit® Scholarship Program. That includes 4 seniors at Dakota Valley High School in North Sioux City and 2 seniors from Vermillion High School.
Nationwide there are 16,000 students who will be competing for the scholarships that are awarded to individual students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies.
To make it to the final round, the semifinalist and a high school official must submit a detailed scholarship application with information about the semifinalist’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received. Approximately 6,870 scholarships worth almost $26 million will be awarded in the spring. Winners will be announced in four nationwide news releases beginning in April and concluding in July.
These scholarship recipients will join more than 382,000 other distinguished young people who have earned the Merit Scholar title.
Every finalist will compete for one of 2,500 National Merit® $2500 Scholarships that will be awarded on a state-representational basis.
About 770 corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards will be provided by approximately 130 corporations and business organizations for Finalists who meet their specified criteria, such as children of the grantor’s employees or residents of communities where sponsor plants or offices are located.
In addition, about 150 colleges and universities are expected to finance some 3,600 college-sponsored Merit Scholarship awards for Finalists who will attend the sponsor institution.
Students from Belle Fourche High School, Brandon Valley High School, Brookings High School, Groton High School, T.F. Riggs High School in Pierre, Rapid City Christian High School, Rapid City Stevens High School, Sioux Falls Jefferson High School, Sioux Falls Lincoln High School, Sioux Falls O’Gorman High School, Sioux Falls Roosevelt High School, Sioux Falls Washington High School, and Vermillion High School are advancing to that semi-final round of selections.
$24.4 MILLION AWARDED TO MULTIPLE PROJECTS BY SOUTH DAKOTA BOARD OF WATER AND NATURAL RESOURCES
PIERRE, S.D. – The South Dakota Board of Water and Natural Resources has awarded grants to Walworth County and the SouthEastern Council of Governments and multi-million-dollar, low interest loans to Box Elder, Pierre and Fort Pierre, Mitchell, and the Lincoln County Rural Water System.
The loans range from $1.74 million to the Lincoln County Water system to assist with the relocation of a water main to $13 million in Mitchell for improvements to the city’s wastewater system.
The grants include $30,000 to Walworth County for a facility at the county landfill for equipment storage and $100,000 to the SouthEastern Council of Governments to assist with recapitalizing its revolving loan fund so the group can continue to aid in funding for recycling projects in the region.
During their meeting Thursday, the state Water Board approved a total of $24.4 million ($24,416,257) in loans and grants for drinking water, wastewater and solid waste projects in South Dakota. The total consists of $24.2 million ($24,286,257) in low-interest loans and $130,000 in grants to be administered by the state Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
The State of South Dakota and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fund the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Programs. The programs are funded through a combination of federal appropriations, loan repayments, and bonds.
The Solid Waste Management Program provides loans and grants for solid waste disposal, recycling, and waste tire projects. The Legislature annually appropriates dedicated funding for the Solid Waste Management Program through the Omnibus Water Funding Bill.
SOUTH DAKOTA CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION INTRODUCING LEGISLATION TO STUDY FEASIBILITY OF WATER PIPELINE FROM THE MISSOURI RIVER TO THE BLACK HILLS
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Joshua Haiar / South Dakota Searchlight) – The three members of Congress representing South Dakota introduced House and Senate bills Wednesday to require a federal feasibility study for a potential water pipeline from the Missouri River to the Black Hills.
The legislation would authorize $10 million in federal funding to cover up to 50% of the study’s cost. The nonprofit organization leading the pipeline effort aims to cover the rest of the cost with federal and state funding it’s already received, plus locally raised funds.
Senator John Thune introduced the Senate bill, with Sen. Mike Rounds as a co-sponsor. Representative Dusty Johnson introduced the House version. All three are Republicans.
“The Western Dakota Regional Water System is a promising proposal to address the rapidly growing water needs of the Black Hills region,” said Thune in a joint news release. “This legislation would advance the project by authorizing a Bureau of Reclamation study in order to determine the feasibility of the project, and I’m proud to join Rep. Johnson and Sen. Rounds in this critical effort.”
Cheryl Chapman is the executive director of the Western Dakota Regional Water System, a Rapid City-based nonprofit organized to advance the pipeline proposal. The nonprofit was founded after a 2019 study by researchers at South Dakota Mines showed the Rapid City area could run short of water during an extended drought.
“The idea is to bring an additional source of water to our area,” Chapman said.
The pipeline could bring water to Rapid City and the Black Hills and also to other places in western South Dakota. The nonprofit has a geographically diverse roster of members ranging from the city of Fort Pierre to the city of Newell.
Existing Missouri River pipelines, including the Mni Wiconi and Lewis and Clark projects, already bring water to some other parts of the state. Dams on the river control large reservoirs in multiple states, including South Dakota’s Lake Oahe, the nation’s fourth-largest reservoir.
The South Dakota Mines report estimated in 2019 that a western South Dakota pipeline would cost $2 billion. Chapman said federal funding is vital.
She said the federal feasibility study would assess the project’s viability, including its economic and environmental impacts, and is expected to guide future legislative and funding decisions.
“The feasibility study is kind of the first step of a two-step process to get congressional approval for a project like this, which in turn then puts us in line for federal funding,” she said.
If the House or Senate bill passes, the Bureau of Reclamation, an agency within the Department of the Interior, will conduct the feasibility study.
NORTH SIOUX CITY CITY COUNCIL VOTES TO START TEMPORARY ASPHALT PROJECT ON NORTHSHORE DRIVE
NORTH SIOUX CITY, S.D. (KTIV) – Leaders in North Sioux City, South Dakota, continue to focus on flood recovery three months after floodwaters from the Big Sioux River swept homes away in McCook Lake.
The city council held a special meeting Thursday night and discussed the future of the roads in the hardest-hit areas… Northshore Drive and Penrose Drive
They voted on bids for projects to grade and put temporary asphalt on Northshore Drive.
That bid came at a cost of $631,131.
Jon Brown with Stockwell Engineering shared that all the temporary asphalt and grading work on Northshore Drive would be fully covered by the Federal Highway Administration. That agency would also cover the cost of tearing out the temporary asphalt.
“Penrose is limited cause it does not fall under Federal Highways guidelines, so we are under FEMA’s guidelines so anything we do on that street is subject to FEMA’s guidelines, not Federal Highway,” said Jon Brown, with Stockwell Engineering.
Some McCook Lake residents said they want that project to start as soon as possible. While they want the project, they also raised concerns they want the council to consider.
“What’s going to happen to these ramps that we’ve built in there? If we bring in more dirt, and it goes down the sides, it’s covering up more and more of this debris, that we are then going to have to pay to take out,” said Amy McDonald, a McCook Lake resident.
The council approved the project, and officials hope construction will start in 3 weeks. They also hope to have it done by December 1st.
