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Robert Glen
JONES Jr.
Classification: Murderer
Characteristics:
Robberies
Number of victims: 7
Date of murders: May-August 1996
Date of birth:
December 25,
1969
Victims profile: Clarence
Odell III, 47; and Thomas Hardman, 26 /
Arthur “Taco” Bell, 54; Judy Bell, 46; Maribeth Munn, 53; and
Carol Lynn Noel, 50 /
Richard Roels
Method of murder:
Shooting
Location: Pima County, Arizona, USA
Status: Sentenced to death on February 17,
2000. Executed by lethal injection in Arizona on October 23, 2013
The man convicted of gunning down six people in cold
blood in a pair of 1996 robberies died quietly Wednesday in Housing Unit
9 at the Arizona Department of Corrections prison in Florence.
In stark contrast to the violent and bloody deaths
Robert Glen Jones’ inflicted upon his victims, Jones appeared to fall
peacefully asleep after prison officials administered the lethal dose of
phenobarbital.
“I think it was too easy,” said Carson Noel, whose
mother was one of the people Jones and accomplice Scott Nordstrom shot
and killed.
Noel said Jones wasn’t made to suffer the way his
victims were.
Jones, 43, and Nordstrom were found guilty of the
Moon Smoke Shop and Firefighter’s Union Hall murders in 1998 and
sentenced to die for the crimes. Nordstrom remains on death row.
Arthur “Taco” Bell, 54; Judy Bell, 46; Maribeth Munn,
53; and Carol Lynn Noel, 50, were shot and killed during a robbery at
the Firefighter’s Union Hall.
Clarence Odell III, 47; and Thomas Hardman, 26, were
killed in the Moon Smoke Shop.
“All I could think of was my mom and dad,” said
Christopher Bell, son of Arthur and Judy Bell.
Bell said the 17 years since his parents were slain
was too long to wait for the death sentence to be carried out.
Even with one of the killers of his parents dead,
Bell said his family would always bear the scars left by their deaths.
“It’s never going to heal — it never will,” Bell
said.
Following the murders, Bell said he moved to Texas to
escape some of the memories and make a new start.
Jones steadfastly maintained his innocence over the
years. Prior to the execution, however, he declined to attend his
clemency board hearing, where an attorney represented him in a plea for
a stay.
He also refused a special meal the day before the
death sentence was carried out, eating instead the same meal other
death-row inmates had: beef patties, mashed potatoes, gravy, carrots,
two slices of wheat bread, glazed cake and a powdered-juice drink.
Before the administration of the lethal dose, Jones
offered no apologies and expressed no remorse.
“Love and respect my family and friends and I hope my
friends are never here,” were the last words Jones spoke.
At times he even joked with prison staffers as they
struggled to find viable veins to insert the IVs, suggesting with his
years of experience shooting “dope” he could find the vein himself if
they freed his hand.
Witnesses watched on television monitors as prison
and medical staff worked for nearly an hour around Jones before opting
to administer the lethal injection drugs into the femoral artery of his
right leg.
When the curtains that block out the glass between
the observation room and death chamber were opened, the death warrant
was read to Jones.
The drugs were administered at 10:35 a.m.
Jones lay nearly motionless with his eyes closed
moving only his right hand periodically.
His chest made one upward heave before he stopped
moving completely. As the drug worked its way through his system, the
muscles in his face relaxed and his mouth fell slightly slack.
Soon the color began to run from his face, taking on
a pale gray shade.
After nearly 10 minutes of silence, a medical
technician checked Jones’ vital signs and pronounced him “officially
sedated.”
A few minutes later, Arizona Department of
Corrections Director Charles L. Ryan stepped into the chamber and
pronounced Jones officially dead at 10:52 a.m.
For Noel, attending the execution was a difficult
decision.
“This is probably the second-hardest thing I’ve had
to do,” he said. “The first was laying my mom to rest.”
It was Arizona’s 36th execution since 1992.
Wednesday’s execution was the second in Arizona this
month. Edward Schad, 71, was executed Oct. 9 for killing a Bisbee man
in 1978.
No execution date has been set for Nordstrom.
Man who killed 7 in Arizona put to death
Robert Jones was sentenced to death six times but was
found guilty in a seventh murder.
Michael Kiefer - The Arizona Republic
October 23, 2013
FLORENCE, Ariz. — Robert Jones, who killed six people
in Tucson, Ariz., and one in Phoenix during three armed robberies in
1996, was executed Wednesday at the Arizona State Prison Complex here.
Jones, 43, was sentenced to death for the murders of
Chip O'Dell, Tom Hardman, Carol Lynn Noel, Maribeth Munn, and Judy and
Arthur Bell in Tucson. He was sentenced to life in prison for the murder
of Richard Roels in Phoenix. Several of the victims' family members
witnessed the execution.
Jones met with his lawyers Tuesday night and declined
the traditional last meal.
"It's just another meal, and there's nothing special
about the day to me," he told Assistant Federal Defender Dale Baich.
Jones and his accomplices killed ruthlessly.
On May 30, 1996, two men burst through the doors of
the Moon Smoke Shop in Tucson. A red-haired man, believed to be Jones,
wearing a black cowboy hat and dark sunglasses immediately shot O'Dell
in the head, killing him, survivors said.
Store employees dropped to the floor behind the
counter as the gunman continued to fire. The gunman then chased an
employee, Hardman, to a back room, where the gunman killed him as well.
Two employees fled; a third was wounded. One of the survivors saw a
light-colored pickup truck speeding away from the scene with two people
in it.
Two weeks later, on June13, 1996, four bodies were
found at the Fire Fighters Union Hall, also in Tucson: Noel, Munn and
the Bells. Noel had been beaten and shot twice; the others were
apparently shot in the back of the head after being made to put their
heads on the bar. Police believed $1,300 was taken from the cash
register.
Ryanne Costello had lunch at her father's house in
central Phoenix on Aug.23, 1996, the day he was killed. If the killers
had arrived two hours earlier, "the homicide detective said they would
have killed me, too," Costello said.
Roels was bound with duct tape and shot in the head.
"Jones killed everybody the same way," Costello said.
"He shot them all the same way."
Phoenix police quickly tracked Roels' stolen credit
cards and found that they had been used in the hours after the killing
to buy pizzas and a pair of cowboy boots. Then, as the killers tried to
buy ammunition at a gun-supply store, a suspicious store clerk called
police and turned over surveillance photos of the two men.
The police then sent the photos to local hotels to
see if anyone recognized the two men. Staff at a motel near Interstate
17 identified them.
Jones and an accomplice named Stephen Coats were
leaving the motel as a police helicopter tracked them. The two men led
police on a car chase through city streets that reached speeds of 80
mph. Then the killers stopped at a car dealership, hot-wired a Corvette
and sped down another road at 100 mph.
They eluded police on Arizona 51 at top speeds of
nearly 130 mph. The Corvette ran out of gas in Tempe, Ariz., where Jones
and Coats split up. Coats forced his way into an apartment at gunpoint;
Jones hot-wired a Porsche that he crashed.
When he was arrested, Jones was wearing the watch
that Roels, a retired Arizona Republic executive, received from the
newspaper on his retirement.
The link to the Tucson murders came when a man named
David Nordstrom went to Tucson police and told them that he had been
with Jones and his own brother, Scott Nordstrom, on the day they robbed
the Moon Smoke Shop.
David Nordstrom, who was on parole and wearing an
electronic-monitoring device, said he was driving the pickup truck when
the first murders and robbery were committed. Jones fit the description
of the gunman; for that matter, so did David Nordstrom. But David pinned
the murders on Scott Nordstrom and Jones. He also said he knew of the
other robbery and murders from what Jones and Scott Nordstrom told him.
David Nordstrom was initially charged in some of the
murders, but the charges were dropped in exchange for his testimony.
Jones and Scott Nordstrom were both sentenced to death. Coats, who had
nothing to do with the Tucson robberies, was sentenced to life in prison
for Roels' murder.
He was born on Christmas Day, 1969, in Tyler, Texas.
Jones' natural father was absent from the home during
Jones' childhood, according to court records. Jones' two successive
stepfathers beat him, and when he became big enough to defend himself at
about age 15, he was kicked out of his mother's house. Jones dropped out
of school and began using cocaine and methamphetamine.
His defense lawyers maintained to the end that the
Tucson murders were a case of mistaken identity, pointing out that David
Nordstrom resembled Jones. No physical evidence linked Jones to the
murders. However, he pleaded guilty to Roels' murder, for which he was
sentenced to life in prison.
But in the last weeks, state and federal courts
refused to grant a stay of execution. Jones and another death-row
inmate, Edward Schad, filed a lawsuit against the state to get the
Arizona Department of Corrections to reveal its source of the
barbiturate pentobarbital, which would be used in both men's executions.
The two men appeared side by side on closed-circuit TV during the
federal court hearings earlier this month.
The judge ordered the Corrections Department to
provide the information, which it did, although the inmates' lawyers
asked for more. Schad was executed Oct.9. The suit will continue even
after Jones' death.
Jones did not attend his clemency hearing last week,
claiming that that the Arizona Board of Executive Clemency would never
commute his sentence or grant him a reprieve.
Costello, Roels' daughter, tried to learn as much as
she could about Jones in the 17 years since her father was murdered.
Shortly after the crime, he called her from jail to threaten her if she
continued to ask his friends questions about him, she said. At his
trial, she watched him closely.
"There was just nothing there," she said of his
effect. "I almost felt sorry for him."
She was among the witnesses to Wednesday's execution.
Costello spent much of the past 17 years wondering
about her father's murder and even tried to set up meeting with Jones to
ask him what her father's last words had been. She wanted closure. She
wanted to understand why her father was dead and how he faced his last
moments.
The meeting never happened.
"I was prepared for it," Costello said. "He could
have told me anything."
Robert Glen Jones
Date of Birth: December
25, 1969
Defendant: Caucasian
Victim: Caucasian
On May 30, 1996, Robert Jones
and Scott Nordstrom entered the Moon Smoke Shop
in Tucson.
Jones immediately shot a customer in
the head; one employee escaped, two others were
shot at by Jones behind the counter (one was
injured but survived and the other was not hit),
and another employee was executed by Scott
Nordstrom with two shots to the head. Money was
taken which was shared with lookout David
Nordstrom.
On June 13, 1996, Robert Jones and Scott Nordstrom
entered the Firefighters Union Hall in Tucson. Three customers were
executed with shots to the head by Jones and a wallet taken from one of
them. The bartender was shot dead by Scott Nordstrom after being unable
to open a safe; money was taken from a cash register.
Both cases were
solved when David Nordstrom contacted the police.
PROCEEDINGS
Presiding Judge: John S. Leonardo
Prosecutor: David White
Defense: Eric Larsen and David Braun
Start of Trial: June 17, 1998
Verdict: June 26, 1998
Sentencing: December 7, 1998
Aggravating Circumstances:
Convicted of other offenses for which life sentence or death penalty
imposable
Convicted of other "serious" offenses
Pecuniary gain
On parole at time of offense
Multiple homicides
Mitigating Circumstances:
Statutory-none proven
Non-statutory-dysfunctional family family support good behavior/demeanor
during trial
PUBLISHED OPINIONS
None at this time
*****
JONES, Robert Glenn ADC#070566
Pima County CR57526 sentenced as follows:
Count I First Degree Murder as to Thomas Hardman,
committed on 5/30/96, sentenced to DEATH.
Count 2 First Degree Murder as to Clarence O'Dell,
committed on 5/30/96, sentenced to DEATH.
Count 8 First Degree Murder as to Maribeth Munn,
committed on 6/13/96, sentenced to DEATH.
Count 9 First Degree Murder as to Carol Lynn Noel,
committed on 6/13/96, sentenced to DEATH.
Count 10 First Degree Murder as to Arthur Bell,
committed on 6/13/96, sentenced to DEATH.
Count 11 First Degree Murder as to Judy Bell,
committed on 6/13/96, sentenced to DEATH.
These sentences are CONSECUTIVE, one to the other.
Non-Capital Counts
Count 3 Attempted First Degree Murder as to Steve
Vetter, committed on 5/30/96, sentenced to 15 years concurrent with
counts 4 & 13, consecutive to all other counts.
Count 4, 5, 6 Armed Robbery , committed on 5/30/96,
sentenced to 15 years each count. Count 4 is concurrent with counts 3 &
13, consecutive to all other counts; count 5 is concurrent with count
14, consecutive to all other counts; count 6 is concurrent with count
15, consecutive to all other counts,
Count 7 Burglary in the First Degree, committed on
6/13/96, sentenced to 15 years consecutive to all other counts.
Count 12 Burglary in the First Degree, committed on
5/30/96, sentenced to 15 years consecutive with all other counts.
Count 13, 14, 15 Aggravated Assault, Deadly Weapon/Dangerous
Instrument, committed on 5/3 0/96, sentenced to 10 years each count.
Count 13 concurrent with counts 3 & 4, consecutive to all other counts;
count 14 concurrent with count 5, consecutive to all other counts; count
15 concurrent with count 6, consecutive to all other counts.
Co-defendant is Scott Nordstrom ADC#086114
On May 30, 1996 Robert Jones and Scott Nordstrom
entered the Smoke Shop at Grant and First Avenue in Tucson, AZ.
Victim
two a customer was standing inside the door was shot once in the back of
his head with a handgun by Jones. Three employees were ordered to the
floor where they were shot by Jones.
Victim four was struck twice.
Victim six was ordered to open both registers and he heard the shots
when Jones shot the others when he was on his way to the second register.
Victim six fled upon hearing the shots, out the front door of the
business without injury.
A fourth employee, victim one was on the
opposite side of the room it is believed that he fled to a back room
when the shooting started, Scott Nordstrom followed him, made him lay
face down on the floor, and shot him twice in the back of the head with
a .380 caliber handgun.
Robert Jones and Scott Nordstrom then left the
shop, got into a waiting truck parked behind the business, driven by
David Nordstrom.
On June 13, 1996 between 9:15 and 9:30 p.m. Robert
Jones and Scott Nordstrom entered the Union Hall on East Benson Highway
where victim twelve was the bartender and three customers, victims 9, 15
and 17 were seated at the bar.
Jones had the customers bend forward with their faces
flat on the bar and he shot each one once in the back of the head with a
nine millimeter handgun. Victim 15 also showed evidence of being struck
with a blunt object in the face and his wallet was stolen. Victim 12 was
taken to the back room to open the safe, she did not have the
combination, she was struck or kicked in the face, her blood was found
on the safe. She was found behind the bar shot once in the back and once
in the head by Nordstrom with a .380 caliber handgun. The victims were
found by customers that arrived approximately 9:30 p.m. after the
defendants had left.
Other Unrelated charges from Maricopa County CR
1996-012723
Count I Burglary in the Second Degree, committed on
8/18/96 and 8/19/96, sentenced to 3.5 years.
Count 3 Armed Robbery, committed on 8/20/96,
sentenced to 10.5 years consecutive to count 1.
Count 4 Burglary in the Second Degree, committed on
or between 8/22/96 and 8/23/96, sentenced to 3.5 years consecutive to
count 3.
Count 6 Burglary in the Third Degree, committed on or
about 8/23/96, sentenced to 2.5 years consecutive to count 4.
Count 8 Burglary in the Second Degree, committed on
or about 8/23/96, sentenced to 3.5 years consecutive to count 6.
Count 10 First Degree Murder, committed on 8/23/96,
sentenced to Natural Life consecutive to count 42.
Count 16 Fraudulent Schemes and Artifices, committed
on or about 8/23/96, sentenced to 5 years consecutive to count 8.
Count 18 Armed Robbery, committed or about 8/24/96,
sentenced to 10.5 years concurrent with counts 21 & 41, consecutive to
count 16.
Count 19 Aggravated Assault, committed on or about
8/24/96, sentenced to 7.5 years concurrent with counts 20, 22, 25, 26 &
27, consecutive to counts 18, 21 & 41.
Count 20 Aggravated Assault, committed on or about
8/24/96, sentenced to 7.5 years concurrent with counts 19, 22, 25, 26 &
27, consecutive to counts 18, 21 & 41.
Count 21 Armed Robbery, committed on or about
8/24/96, sentenced to 10.5 years concurrent with counts 18 & 41,
consecutive to count 16.
Count 22 Aggravated Assault, committed on or about
8/24/96, sentenced to 7.5 years concurrent with counts 19, 20, 25, 26 &
27, consecutive to counts 18, 21 & 41.
Count 23 First Degree Burglary, committed on or about
8/24/96, sentenced to 7.5 years consecutive to counts 19, 20, 22, 25, 26
& 27.
Count 24 Attempted Armed Robbery, committed on or
about 8/24/96, sentenced to 7.5 years concurrent with count 28,
consecutive to count 23.
Count 25 Aggravated Assault, committed on or about
8/24/96, sentenced to 7.5 years concurrent with counts 19, 20, 22, 26 &
27, consecutive to counts 18, 21 & 41.
Count 26 Aggravated Assault, committed on or about
8/24/96, sentenced to 7.5 years concurrent with counts 19, 20, 22, 25 &
27, consecutive to counts 18, 21 & 41.
Count 27 Aggravated Assault, committed on or about
8/24/96, sentenced to 7.5 years concurrent with counts 19, 20, 22, 25 &
26, consecutive to counts 18, 21 & 41.
Count 28 Attempted Armed Robbery, committed on or
about 8/24/96, sentenced to 7.5 years concurrent with count 24,
consecutive to count 23.
Count 29 Attempted First Degree Murder, committed on
or about 8/24/96, sentenced to 10.5 years consecutive to counts 24 &
28.
Count 30 Theft, committed on or about 8/24/96,
sentenced to 3.5 years consecutive to count 29.
Count 41 Armed Robbery, committed on or about
8/24/96, sentenced to 10.5 years concurrent with counts 18 & 21,
consecutive to count 16.
Count 42 Unlawful Flight from a Law Enforcement
Vehicle, committed on or about 8/24/96, sentenced to 1. 5 years
consecutive to count 30.
*****
September 11, 2003
A Warrant of Execution has been issued by the Arizona Supreme
Court for the execution of Robert Glen JONES ADC#070566 on October 22,
2003.
September 22, 2003
A Stay has been issued in the scheduled October 22 Execution
of Robert Glen JONES ADC#070566
Inmate Jones has not exhausted his appeals process.
