A hearing is scheduled for later this week to address a former teacher's claim that he can't get a fair trial in Bowie County, Texas, where he is accused of surreptitiously filming an 11-year-old boy in a department store restroom. Shane Samuel Jones, 31, appeared Monday for a pretrial hearing before 202nd District Judge John Tidwell with Texarkana lawyers Danny Cook and Bart Craytor. Earlier this year, Cook filed a motion to transfer venue of Jones' case because of pretrial publicity. Cook's motion cites a "firestorm of excessive amounts of news coverage," as justification for moving the case to Rockwall County, Texas.
Jones was arrested in November for allegedly using a cellphone to film an 11-year-old boy as he occupied a bathroom stall at J.C. Penney in Central Mall in Texarkana, Texas. Jones allegedly admitted to also filming boys using bathrooms at Trinity Christian School in Texarkana, Ark.
Earlier this year, Jones pleaded guilty in Bowie County to invasive visual recording in anticipation of a probated sentence. Jones was allowed to withdraw his guilty plea after 202nd District Judge John Tidwell refused to approve a plea bargain giving Jones probation and no jail time.
Attached to Cook's venue motion are copies of news articles-published in the Gazette and other media-and a local law enforcement agency's Facebook post concerning Jones' arrest. Other exhibits include affidavits signed by Bowie County residents stating that Jones cannot get a fair trial if the case is tried locally.
Motions to transfer venue have been granted for criminal cases in Bowie County in the past, but those cases differ from Jones' in the severity of their alleged offenses and possible punishment. The last Bowie County case tried in a different county involved a defendant accused of murder involving a Texarkana, Texas, police officer's death. Capital murder cases, including one where the death penalty was sought by Bowie County prosecutors, have been tried in neighboring jurisdictions.
Jones is charged with a state jail felony. The offense is punishable by six months to two years in a Texas state jail. Tidwell scheduled a hearing for Thursday morning in New Boston at the Bowie County courthouse at which time the issue of where the case should be tried will be argued. First Assistant District Attorney Mike Shepherd and Assistant District Attorney Katie Carter are opposed to moving the case.
Cook has filed a similar motion in Miller County, Ark., where Jones is facing charges of voyeurism and video voyeurism for allegedly filming boys in restrooms at Trinity Christian School. Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Kristian Robertson has filed a response opposing a change of venue in Miller County.
Voyeurism and video voyeurism are each punishable by up to six years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Jones' case in Miller County is scheduled for trial before Circuit Judge Brent Haltom in October.
Jones is free on bond in both counties. In Bowie County, Jones' bond conditions include a GPS leg monitor and he is forbidden to have contact with minors.