Orange County Felon Convicted of Kidnapping at Gunpoint Girlfriend from a Port St. Lucie Group Home

MIAMI – A federal jury has convicted Marques Deon Jones, 41, of Orange County, of kidnapping, and two felon in possession of a firearm charges, after a three-day trial before U.S. District Court Senior Judge James I. Cohn, sitting in Fort Pierce.

On August 14, 2022, Jones pistol-whipped his girlfriend, an employee of a Port St. Lucie group home located near SE Walton Road and forced her to leave with him in her vehicle. A group home supervisor, who witnessed the kidnapping, notified Port St. Lucie Police Department, who was able to identify Jones.

The following day the U.S. Marshals Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force located Jones outside a private residence in Fort Pierce and arrested him. During the trial, witnesses testified that as task force officers approached Jones, he retrieved a firearm from a parked car and attempted to flee. The jury watched footage from a body worn camera showing Jones admitting that he retrieved the firearm because he wanted officers to shoot and kill him.

Jones is scheduled for sentencing on October 2 before U.S. District Court Senior Judge Cohn. He 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.

ATF Fort Pierce Field Office and USMS investigated the case, with assistance from the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, Port St. Lucie Police Department, and the Fort Pierce Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Breezye Telfair and Justin Hoover are prosecuting the case.

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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