A man jailed on an aggravated robbery charge was accused of trying to derail his trial by asking that a racist and threatening email be sent to a Dallas County judge presiding over his case.
Wesley Gerard Jones has been charged with making a terroristic threat against a peace officer or judge. He went on trial in mid-May after being arrested in connection with a robbery at a Mesquite store in December 2019. An employee was critically shot during the robbery.
Jones, 32, was taken to the Dallas County jail in January 2020. A jury convicted him of the robbery charge, and he was sentenced to life in prison on May 18.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Jones’ case was initially assigned to the court of State District Judge Amber Givens. However, she recused herself on May 9 after it was revealed that Jones’ ex-girlfriend’s parents lived next door to her.
On May 17, Givens told authorities that someone pretending to be a juror named Peter Wilcox sent her court an email on May 16. The email’s subject line read, “Wesley Jones.”
“You shouldn’t have let me be a part of this jury,” the email read. According to the affidavit, the email also said that Jones would “get what’s coming to him when it comes time for the jury to give their verdict.”
The affidavit stated that the email contained several racial slurs in reference to Jones and Givens, who are both black.
The name “Peter Wilcox” was later determined to be fake.
As stated in the affidavit, authorities determined that Jones directed someone to send the email. A review of recorded audio and video calls from the Dallas County jail showed calls between Jones and a person he referred to as “Slim.”
During the first call on May 4, Jones told Slim he planned to interrupt the court proceedings so he could get a mistrial as he was not satisfied with his attorney’s handling of the case.
On May 14, Jones instructed Slim to get an Oklahoma number through an app that provides users with a virtual phone number, the affidavit states.
On May 16, Jones called Slim with another inmate’s account and told him to create an email account and set it up to look like it belonged to a white male.
Per the affidavit, Jones called the Oklahoma number 13 minutes later. He dictated the email to Slim and told him to send the message over email and text to Givens’ court and Jones’ attorney.
Later that night, Slim told Jones the messages had been sent, according to the affidavit.
Investigators identified Slim as 36-year-old Damondric Jones. A warrant for his arrest was issued. However, the county sheriff’s office said officers have not been able to arrest him as of June 2.
It is unclear if Damondric Jones and Wesley Jones are related.
Court records show that Wesley Jones has written to Givens several times from the Dallas County jail. He claimed in his letters that his bail was excessive and his right to a speedy trial was violated. He also said that he suffers from several mental health issues.
Jones requested his charges to be dismissed last month, court records stated.