4/29/14 - The Michigan Supreme Court has denied a request to hear the case of a Handy Township man who attacked his ex-girlfriend and tried to set her on fire. 53-year-old Charles Evan Jones was sentenced to serve an 18-40 year sentence in 2011 following his conviction for an incident in April of 2010 in which he sprayed a Howell woman with a substance as she sat in her car and then tried to light her on fire. She escaped and avoided serious injury. Jones was found guilty of assault with intent to commit great bodily harm less than murder, a lesser offense than the original charge of assault with intent to commit murder. He was also found guilty of aggravated stalking and filing a false report of terrorism for threatening to blow up the bank where his ex-girlfriend is employed. He appealed his conviction on several grounds, including that his past history of domestic violence and certain statements he made to police should have been inadmissible at trial. He also said his legal counsel was ineffective. The Michigan Court of Appeals rejected all of his arguments and affirmed his conviction in October, and this week the Michigan Supreme Court said it would not hear his case. Jones is being held in the Muskegon Correctional Facility and is not eligible for release until 2028. (TD)
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