TREVOR REYNOLDS - 14 yo/ Accused: Stepfather; William Richard Jones - Springfield MO

Preliminary hearing waived for man accused of killing 14-year-old stepson

10:30 AM, Aug 27, 2012
Written by Claudette Riley

A preliminary hearing was waived this morning for a Springfield man charged with killing his 14-year-old stepson.

William Richard Jones, 64, was charged with first-degree murder in the July 5 shooting death of Central High School student Trevor Reynolds.

Public defender Bryan Delleville and a Greene County prosecutor spoke briefly in front of Associate Circuit Judge Mark Fitzsimmons today while Jones sat handcuffed nearby.

By waiving the preliminary hearing, Jones will next appear in Circuit Court. That appearance is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 28.

Today’s appearance was the second this month for Jones. He was in Fitzsimmons courtroom earlier this month while Delleville successfully requested a continuance for the preliminary hearing because an evaluation to determine Jones’ competency had not yet taken place.

Online court documents show doctors have been allowed to visit Jones at the Greene County Jail.

Fitzsimmons denied Delleville’s request to lower Jones’ $250,000 bail.

Delleville said Jones has struggled with health issues including diabetes, heart and blood pressure problems since his arrest July 5. He said Jones has been in and out of the hospital.

Falecha Reynolds-Jones, Trevor’s mom, didn’t appear in court today.

She previously told officers that her son was asleep in his bedroom when she was startled to her feet by what sounded like a firecracker. She has repeatedly said she took a few steps and saw her husband of nearly three years standing over her son with a gun, according to court documents.

Reynolds-Jones has continued to live in the East Livingston Street house she shared with her husband and son. She has said she remains grief-stricken over the death of her son, who would have turned 15 on Aug. 1, and has also struggled to come to grips with the role her husband allegedly played in the death.

http://www.news-leader.com/article/20120827/NEWS01/308270069?gcheck=1&nclick_check=1

Death of Trevor Reynolds impacts Central students, staff

1:24 PM, Jul 6, 2012


Trevor Reynolds / submitted photo

Over 6 feet tall and nearly as broad as a doorway, freshman Trevor Reynolds loomed large in the hallways of Central High School.

Central’s principal, a school nurse and the freshman counselor gathered Friday to speak about the 14-year-old, who was killed by a gunshot a day earlier. His stepfather was arrested and booked into jail in connection with the death.

“Every time he walked down the hall he had a group around him and a big smile on his face,” said counselor Carol Davis, adding that Trevor would always nod as he passed by. “He was a positive force.”

They described a polite, charismatic young man who charmed others with his southern accent and mannerisms. It wasn’t immediately clear Friday where he was born.

“He’s sweet as pie,” said Carol Davis, a counselor. “He always said ‘yes, ma’am’ and ‘no ma’am.’ He was so polite. He was a charmer, even when he was mischievous.”

Davis remembers that — like many freshmen — Trevor would briefly get on the bad side of a teacher for talking too much in class.

“Just like any kid, he’d get in cuts and scrapes but when you talked to him about it, you’d just scratch your head because he’s so polite,” Davis said. “He was so sweet and polite to me, I’d think how can anybody have a problem with him.”

Lynette Butler, the school nurse, said news of Trevor’s death left her sleepless Thursday. She struggled to come to grips with it Friday.

“My heart just hurts for his mom,” Butler said. “It’s going to be difficult for everyone.”

Butler said the teen was very close to his mother and adored his father but struggled with the family dynamic.

“I do know he had trouble with stepdad,” said Butler, who was emotional recalling the conversations with Trevor. “We talked about that a lot and mom tried to run interference between them.”

Butler said Trevor was “very popular with the girls and other students.” She added that “because of his stature and he was kind of mature acting in many ways.”

“He was a pleasant young man that was easy to talk to, easy to listen to and easy to be around,” she said.

Butler said the teen would use his size to his advantage but not in a way that hurt others.

“He had a very protective attitude, like if someone else was involved in an altercation, he’d charge right in to be the comforter,” she said, noting that attitude extended to staff. “If someone mouthed me, and he heard, he’d tell them not to talk about me.”

The teen went to Pleasant View Middle School and lived in the Hillcrest High School attendance area. At the start of the 2011-12 year, he was granted a transfer to Central High School.

Central Principal Ron Snodgrass said the transfer request filled out by his mother indicated he “wanted a change of scenery.”

“He wanted to thrive and be a role model and felt Central would give him the opportunity,” Snodgrass said.

District computers were down Friday so Snodgrass wasn’t able to answer specific questions about Trevor’s extracurricular activities.

But, Butler said he signed up to participate in some activity and requested a sports physical.

“He was eager and brought me the paperwork,” she said.

Summer school ended last week and the district is closed on Fridays during the summer. Still, Central called in a team of counselors and opened its doors Friday morning to grieving students and staff.

“It’s just tragic,” he said. “We’re here to support his family and the students that are friends with Trevor.”

Snodgrass said the loss of a teen, regardless of the circumstances, is “never easy to deal with.”

“People may react a little bit differently based on the fact it was a homicide,” he said. “...There may be more questions. You ask those questions about why.”

The school will be prepared to respond to grieving staff and teens when school resumes next month.

“There may be kids that were in his class and looking around and Trevor is not there. That could happen,” he said. “A little more than a month from now, kids may have those grieving thoughts about missing Trevor here at school.”

http://www.news-leader.com/article/20120706/NEWS01/307060090/Trevor-Reynolds-death-impacts-Central-students-staff

Mother of slain teen shares her story with KSPR and blames Springfield Police for son's murder
Court documents show police visited Jones' home twice the day before shooting - and the suspect warned police then that he would shoot his stepson.
August 22, 2012|by Jonah Kaplan, KSPR News | jkaplan@kspr.com

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - On July 5th, prosecutors say William Richard Jones shot and killed his 14-year-old stepson.

Details emerged in July about the hours before the shooting of Trevor Reynolds - raising questions about whether police could have prevented the death of a teenager.

The boy's mother, Falecha Jones, opened up for the first time, to share her side of the story.

"I blame [Springfield Police] because if they had been doing their job, my son would be alive," Jones tells KSPR News. "I think about it everyday. I cannot get it out of my mind. I go to sleep and I think about it. I wake up and I think about."

On the afternoon of July 5th, Falecha Jones found her 14-year-old son Trevor Reynolds, shot dead in his room at the hands of his stepfather.
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Court documents show the events leading up to the shooting.

The night before she called police twice because her husband and son were in a heated argument, and she was worried it could turn violent.

The documents reveal the stepfather, William Richard Jones, told an officer he would kill Trevor. Then the officer asked him if he intended to kill Trevor after they left. Jones said "Yes."

Officers didn't take William Richard Jones with them and said Falecha Jones offered to take Reynolds out of the house instead - something she now denies.

"They told me to take my son away because they don't have the room to put everyone who makes a threat in jail," she says.

The Springfield Police Department denied KSPR's request to speak today, but we asked them in July why they didn't make Jones leave.

"You just can't take those words as an arrest-able offense," Cpl. Matt Brown told KSPR News on July 26th. "It is possible to do that, but you have to look at the totality of the circumstances and the words spoken. The officers considered what was going on, took the threat seriously, removed weapons, and then found a location for the child to go to."

Jones has not yet filed a lawsuit against the City of Springfield, but has hired attorneys in and out of the state.

http://articles.kspr.com/2012-08-22/trevor-reynolds_33327407

Interesting.

here we go again-not putting the blame where it belongs. #1 her husband pulled the trigger and #2 why didnt she take her son to a safe place? no one would have had to suggest that to me. i would have gotten my child to safety and then called the police,