A Winder man who shot two women in 2019 received a 25-year prison sentence on Monday, Sept. 19.
According to U.S. Northern District of Georgia Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan and information presented in court, Ralph Haywood Jones, Jr., 30 of Winder, and his ex-girlfriend were scheduled for a supervised visitation with their children on June 10, 2019.
Jones’ ex-girlfriend asked one of her friends to ride in the car with her, as she was not comfortable riding alone with Jones.
He then shot the friend of his ex-girlfriend in the abdomen and left her lying in a driveway in Winder. Next, Jones shot his ex-girlfriend in the neck and drove her to Fair Play, South Carolina. He abandoned her along with his car in a store parking lot.
Officers found the woman bleeding and incoherent from the gunshot wound. However, she and her friend survived the shooting.
“Jones’s horrific violence resulted in significant trauma to his victims, their families, and his children,” U.S. Attorney Buchanan said in a press release. “Fortunately, the quick response of our local law enforcement partners prevented the victims’ deaths. The intersection of domestic and firearms violence poses a serious risk to public safety and remains a top priority for our office and federal, state, and local law enforcement.”
Jones pled guilty to kidnapping his ex-girlfriend on April 18, 2022. Once his 25-year prison sentence is over, Jones will also have five years of supervised release.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Winder Police Department, and the Oconee County, South Carolina Sheriff’s Office.
It was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. The Northern District of Georgia’s PSN program focuses on prosecuting individuals who drive violence in the community. It also fosters partnerships between law enforcement and schools, the faith community and local community leaders to prevent and deter future criminal conduct.
“The only thing to be thankful for after Jones’s reign of terror is that no one was killed, even though he showed a disregard for human life,” Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta Keri Farley said in a statement. “Through the Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative, the FBI will continue to work with our partners to save lives and remove violent offenders from our streets.”
