A Winnfield woman arrested in Ruston for criminal mischief saw her charges escalate after she attacked the staff in the Lincoln Parish Detention Center.
Shonna A. Jones, 39, faces eight charges related to her conduct at the detention center after her arrest for filing a false police report.
The Ruston Police Department first encountered Jones after receiving a report of a kidnapping of a mother and son Feb. 27. An officer spotted the alleged suspect vehicle, a church van, and stopped it in the 100 block of West California Avenue. The driver identified himself as a pastor giving the woman and her son inside a ride to the church to receive some assistance.
The pastor said he knew the woman, Shonna Jones, and that she was experiencing withdrawals from drug abuse.
Jones told police she and her son had been kidnapped. Since Jones was exhibiting concerning behavior, Ruston Ambulance Service responded to the scene to evaluate Jones, who became more belligerent. After questioning the son and the pastor’s wife, police determined that no kidnapping had occurred, and Jones was arrested for criminal mischief by filing a false report.
At the detention center, Jones attacked a deputy and had to be restrained. When she kicked another deputy, a Taser was displayed, and she became compliant but later took an aggressive stance and struck a deputy. The Taser was deployed so Jones could be restrained. She was additionally charged with three counts of resisting an officer, battery of a police officer, and battery of a correctional facility employee.
Later in the morning, Jones was being escorted by detention center staff from one cell location to another within the facility. Jones suddenly ran away from the deputies, intentionally departing from the designated area, running into an area of the facility she was not authorized to enter. After a brief chase, deputies regained contact with Jones and attempted to restrain her. According to a deputy’s report, she violently resisted and refused to follow commands, using her hand to grab and claw at a deputy’s throat and neck, causing abrasions.
Jones was additionally charged with simple escape, battery of a police officer, and resisting an officer. Bail for all the charges was set at $62,500.
This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named or shown in photographs or video as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
For the latest local news, subscribe FOR FREE to the Lincoln Parish Journal and receive an email each weekday morning at 6:55 right to your inbox. Just CLICK HERE to sign up.
