A former deputy chief with the Everman Fire Department was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated sexual assault in a case prosecutors said involved a home-invasion attack against a woman he knew.
Everman is a small city in southern Tarrant County, southeast of Fort Worth.
Joel Jones, 54, pleaded guilty in Tarrant County. A jury took about 20 minutes to assess a life sentence after hearing evidence during the punishment phase, according to prosecutors.
The Dallas Express previously reported that Fort Worth police arrested Jones in March 2025 after investigators accused him of soliciting Tobasia Griffiths to carry out a sexual assault. Griffiths also faced an aggravated sexual assault charge at the time.
Victim Escaped Attack
Prosecutors said Jones recruited Griffiths, now 31, through a dating website and falsely told him the encounter was part of a “consensual fantasy.” Prosecutors said Jones provided information that helped Griffiths enter the victim’s Fort Worth home on February 21, 2025.
Griffiths entered the victim’s bedroom and assaulted her, prosecutors said. The woman fought back, including by striking him with a lamp, then escaped after convincing him to let her use the restroom.
After the attack, the woman returned home, locked the doors, and called Jones, who contacted 911 and pretended to support her despite having arranged the assault, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said Griffiths later gave Jones an audio recording of the attack. Within days, Jones attempted to arrange another kidnapping and sexual assault of the same woman, according to prosecutors.
Courtroom Evidence
Prosecutors told jurors that Jones wanted to “break” the victim and “strip her of the faith that anchored her.” Prosecutors described the woman as a devout Catholic.
Assistant District Attorney Kim D’Avignon pointed to Jones during closing arguments and told jurors, “There is evil in our world and it’s sitting right there.”
“He wanted to take the most precious part of her and break it,” D’Avignon said.
D’Avignon asked jurors for a life sentence, saying, “There has never been any more evil than has walked in this room.”
Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney Phil Sorrells praised the outcome after the sentence.
“One man’s depravity was on full display this week in the Tarrant County Courthouse,” Sorrells said.
Griffiths also pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual assault and cooperated with prosecutors in the case against Jones.
After the attack, 30 Fort Worth police officers and personnel volunteered to pack the victim’s belongings and move her to a safe location, according to the DA’s office.
