Teacher has meth charges dropped: Not enough evidence available to prosecute Jones

By DUANE SHERRILL / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

JONES

Lost evidence and a weak case led to the dismissal of all criminal charges against longtime teacher Rhonda Jones. The dismissal came Wednesday, the same day her boyfriend received an eight-year sentence for the methamphetamine lab found behind her house last year.

“An agreement was reached due to a lack of proof which would rise to beyond a reasonable doubt,” said District Attorney General Dale Potter. “This wasn’t the choice we would have preferred but there wasn’t anything in the house to link her to the lab which was located in an outbuilding other than it being her property.”

Jones, 47, along with her boyfriend, Kevin Waymon Magness, 34, were arrested last summer after lawmen found a meth lab in a building behind Jones’ Old Shelbyville Road home. Magness, who was convicted in a recent trial for manufacture of meth, was sentenced to eight years in prison Wednesday. He reportedly told lawmen Jones had nothing to do with the lab when the two were first arrested.

“I’m just happy the charges have been dismissed,” Jones said Thursday. “I knew I was innocent. It just took time for it come out.”

According to Potter, there was sparse proof linking Jones to the lab. There was evidence reportedly found in Jones’ desk at the high school where she taught which may have added some support to the case. However, Potter said that evidence was apparently lost by officers.

Specifically, lawmen reportedly found cards containing information about drugs which may have served to show a jury Jones was not clueless when it came to narcotics. Potter said he does not know how the cards were lost. Even if the cards had not been lost, it was questionable if prosecutors would have proceeded with the case.

The dismissal of charges means Jones’ arrest and prosecutorial record will be erased. While she has resigned her position as a teacher with the Warren County School System, she will retain her teaching credentials and may seek employment in the teaching profession. She had taught for 25 years prior to her arrest on the meth charges, last serving as a special education teacher at the high school.

“It’s been a hard year on me and my family,” Jones said. “I’m ready to get on with my life and put this behind me.”

Jones said she has not decided if she will return to teaching.