HILLSBORO, Ore.- On May 7, 2021, Judge Erik Buchér sentenced James Sekou Jones to 70 months in prison after a jury convicted the defendant of two counts of second-degree robbery and unauthorized use of a vehicle. Senior Deputy District Attorney Allison Brown prosecuted the case.

On November 13, 2019, the two victims met the defendant over social media and arranged for an exchange of marijuana. The defendant suggested they meet at an apartment complex in Tualatin, Oregon. The victims drove to the location late in the evening where the defendant and an accomplice entered the vehicle and sat in the backseats. Mr. Jones and his accomplice threatened the victims with what the victims believed was a gun and demanded they leave their property and exit the vehicle. The two men then fled in the stolen vehicle.

Tualatin police responded to the scene. They eventually located the vehicle abandoned at a second apartment complex. They then used information gathered from social media to identify Mr. Jones and his accomplice. The pair left the state before authorities could arrest them, but Mr. Jones was eventually arrested in Mississippi and extradited back to Washington County, Oregon for prosecution.

The Washington County District Attorney’s Office wishes to acknowledge the investigative work of the Tualatin Police Department on this case, as well as the work of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office’s Forensic Unit. 

In addition to his prison sentence, Mr. Jones was also ordered to undergo post-prison supervision for three years upon his release. He will be transferred to the Oregon Department of Corrections to begin serving his sentence.