CINCINNATI — Elwood Jones was arrested Wednesday for allegedly driving under the influence, according to Cincinnati Fraternal Order of Police President Ken Kober. The arrest comes just over a week after a 30-year-old murder case was dismissed against Jones.
A WCPO 9 crew saw Jones inside District 2's headquarters Wednesday evening. Our crew attempted to ask Jones what happened as he was leaving District 2's headquarters, but he did not respond to our questions.
A District 2 officer told WCPO 9 that Jones was charged with OVI, leaving the scene of a crash and failure to control a motor vehicle after he was involved in a crash at the intersection of East McMillan and Woodburn avenues around 5 p.m. No one was injured in the crash, the officer said.
"It’s disgusting that someone who was recently let out of prison after serving nearly 30 years for murder would immediately be endangering the community," Kober told WCPO 9. "Unfortunately, the justice system in Hamilton County has created an atmosphere where visitors and residents continue to (be) put in danger due to poor decisions by a system that should be protecting us. “
Jones was convicted in 1996 for the murder of Rhoda Nathan, a woman found brutally beaten in her hotel room at the Embassy Suites in Blue Ash. He sat on death row for nearly three decades before Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Wende Cross in 2022 ruled that evidence withheld from Jones' defense attorneys was significant enough that Jones should have a new trial.
The Ohio 1st District Court of Appeals denied the prosecutor's office's request to appeal Cross's decision to grant Jones a new trial. The Ohio Supreme Court in December ruled the Court of Appeals to reconsider the request to challenge the decision.
RELATED | Coroner walks back statement, thanks Elwood Jones' attorney for correction in Rhoda Nathan case
However, Pillich said in reviewing the information previously litigated, she found multiple issues, including a lack of forensic or physical evidence directly linking Jones to the murder, insufficient follow-ups on witness statements pointing to other possible suspects and failure to provide Jones' attorneys with a large amount of investigatory material before the trial.
Jones is expected to be in court for the OVI and related charges on Monday, Dec. 29.
