The man convicted of gunning down a former police officer in what the prosecution called a “malicious ambush killing” will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
John Paul Jones was found guilty on December 11 of malice murder, felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, and two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Jones is accused of hiding behind a bush at the end of his driveway and fatally shooting Michael Robinson outside his vehicle on the night of August 6, 2014. He also pointed the gun at Robinson’s wife, who was in the passenger seat.
Polk Superior Court Judge Michael Murphy said in the sentencing hearing Tuesday morning that the children and families of Robinson and Jones will be affected by the incident for the rest of their lives. “Life is made up of choices and consequences,” said Murphy. “I cannot overlook the victims in this case, which are not only Mr. Robinson, but the families and the children.”
Tallapoosa Judicial Circuit District Attorney Jack Browning said after the sentencing that he believes that the sentence was appropriate for the crime due to the fact that the entire incident was premeditated and that Jones conspired to kill someone, following the confrontational posts on his personal Facebook page. “What he did following his comments on Facebook was to take a loaded gun and go up into the woods and wait for basically whoever to show up,” said Browning. “It was an indiscriminate killing and it was premeditated.”
Jones was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the malice murder charge and an additional 30 years consecutively in prison for the aggravated assault and possession of firearms charges.