Orange County Convicted Felon Pleads Guilty to Kidnapping and Aggravated Assault on a Federal Law Enforcement Officer

MIAMI – On April 14, Marques Deon Jones, 40, from Orange County, pled guilty to kidnapping, aggravated assault on a federal law enforcement officer, and two felon in possession of a firearm charges, stemming from a two-day crime spree in Port St. Lucie and Fort Pierce, Florida.  

On August 14, 2022, Jones pistol-whipped an employee of a Port St. Lucie group home located near SE Walton Road, before forcing the employee to leave with him in the employee’s vehicle. While inside the vehicle, Jones continued to beat the employee, threatening the employee that if he saw police, he would kill the employee and force police to kill him in a shoot-out. A group home supervisor, who witnessed Jones’ threats, the physical assault and the ensuing abduction, notified Port St. Lucie Police Department, who was able to identify Jones and issued a warrant for Jones’ arrest.  

The following day, on August 15, 2022, a U.S. Marshals Service warrants unit located Jones, standing outside of a home in Fort Pierce. As the task force officers approached, they observed Jones retrieve a firearm from a parked car, turn, and attempt to flee. Jones later admitted to police that he retrieved the firearm because he wanted officers to shoot and kill him. Jones was arrested without injury.  According to court documents, Jones was previously been convicted, in Orange County, of Domestic Battery and Aggravated Battery Causing Great Bodily Harm, both felonies.

Jones is scheduled for sentencing on June 29, before U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon and faces a possible maximum sentence of life in prison.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Christopher A. Robinson of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Division, and U.S. Marshal Gadyaces S. Serralta of the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), made the announcement.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service, ATF Fort Pierce, with assistance from the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, Port St. Lucie Police Department and the Fort Pierce Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Breezye Telfair.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 22-cr-14069.

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