MORGANTOWN - After a six-month manhunt, law enforcement officers apprehended the man they believe to be responsible for a shooting death outside a Star City nightclub.
Jamie Jones, aka "Flame" or "Torch," was taken into custody by U.S. marshals on the roof of a Fairmont house at about noon Saturday.
Jones, 19, was wanted for firstdegree murder for the shooting of Walter-Vincent Samuel Hill Jr., of Southfield, Mich., in October. Hill was shot in the abdomen outside of Zens Bar & Lounge in Star City. He was taken to Ruby Memorial Hospital, where he later died.
U.S. marshals arrested Jones at a residence on Walnut Avenue. Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Alex Neville said 12 officers surrounded the house because they were sure Jones would attempt to escape. U.S. marshal deputies, members of the U.S. Marshals Service Task Force, officers from the Fairmont Police Department and a West Virginia State trooper were part of the arrest.
Officers caught up to Jones as he attempted to flee out a secondstory window, handcuffing him on the roof of the house. Neville said no weapons were found on Jones or in the residence.
Star City Police Chief Vic Propst said he was relieved when he got word that Jones had been arrested.
"We worked on that [case] every day," he said.
Officers narrowly missed apprehending Jones in Princeton, Va., about two weeks ago, Propst said. He added they only missed him by about an hour.
Neville said that anytime they narrowly miss a suspect, it is a disappointment, especially if the suspect is armed and dangerous.
"We didn't stop," Neville said, adding that the narrow miss in Virginia only made the team more determined to track Jones down.
In December, the U.S. Marshals received intelligence that Jones fled the Fairmont area and was likely staying in Fayette or Mercer counties. Shortly before the arrest attempt in Virginia, Jones relocated to Weirton, according to the U.S. Marshals. He returned to Fairmont last week and was planning to flee to Milwaukee.
Bond information was not available as of press time.
Propst said Jones won't appear before a Monongalia County magistrate until after the weekend. If convicted of first-degree murder, Jones faces life in prison.
Copyright 2012 Charleston Newspapers
