James Ray Jones arrested after hit and run
Jones, 42, is accused of hitting a bicyclist Friday evening while driving on Grand Avenue. Police were alerted after part of the bicyclist’s body was found near the road nearby the following morning. Surveillance footage showed the accident and a truck driving off. The victim was identified as Christopher West, 57.
An investigation named Jones as a suspect and his truck, the vehicle used in the hit and run, was identified. The truck was found in Jones’s backyard, and West’s body in the bed of the truck. The police accident reconstruction unit determined that the body landed in the bed after the accident.
Jones was arrested and is being charged with suspicion of manslaughter and leaving the scene of a personal injury accident in connection with the incident. Jones is being held on $50,000 bail and scheduled to appear in court 9 a.m. Wednesday. He gave the police a full confession and claimed not to know of West’s body in his truck until he returned home.
