MARIETTA, Ga. - Two men charged in connection with the murder of a Clark Atlanta chemistry student were sentenced Friday morning in Cobb Superior Court.
Both Jonathon O’Neil Myles and Jordan James Baker received sentences of 30 years, with prosecutors recommending 20 to be served in prison, for their roles in the 2015 shooting death of James Jones, 21, a Clark Atlanta student who responded to a Craigslist ad to purchase an iPhone.
A third defendant, Kalynn Shiquez Ruthenberg, was convicted in November 2017 and sentenced to life without parole.
Both Myles and Baker faced 11 counts of armed robbery and other charges in the scheme, in which prosecutors said the three men lured victims to a Marietta location under guise of selling them a cell phone, and then robbing them.
On the evening of Feb. 9, 2015, Jones went to a residence on Jamaica Cove in Marietta to buy the iPhone and was confronted by the men, who robbed him of his cell phone and then his shoes. Evidence showed that Ruthenberg then shot Jones with a .45-caliber handgun. As Jones lay dying, Ruthenberg told one of his codefendants to take Jones’ Nike shoes off of his feet, and then shot him again.
Myles and Baker each testified as state’s witnesses in Ruthenberg's trial.
During Friday's hearing, Samuel Heath told the court his brother, who aspired to be a doctor, was “an amazing young man doing some amazing things with his life.”
“My mother feels that 20 years from now, she still won’t have her son, and it’s not fair," Heath said. "It’s been a long three years. We never want anyone to experience this nightmare.”
Baker’s father also addressed the court, expressing his remorse to Jones’ family and asking for a second chance for his son.
