Anthony T. Jones is returned to the Warren County Jail Wednesday.(Meredith Spencer The Vicksburg Post)

[6/10/04]A Vicksburg man’s conviction Wednesday of kidnapping and running over his ex-girlfriend brought relief to the victim, no reaction from the assailant and a warning from the prosecuting attorney.

“This is another example of domestic violence where someone gets seriously hurt,” said District Attorney Gil Martin, whose office prosecuted the case against Anthony T. Jones, 26, of 905 Buck St., who was accused of kidnapping, aggravated assault and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon.

“She survived, but it was close,” Martin said.

Testimony showed that on Sept. 7, 2003, Taquelia Thomas, 25, was about to leave her mother’s Washington Street home as Jones approached her and held a gun to her head, threatening to shoot her if she screamed.

He forced her into the vehicle. She jumped from the car and, as she ran from the vehicle, Jones hit her, pushing her through an iron and brick fence and into a tree.

Thomas, who suffered broken bones and was hospitalized for nearly two months, said she was pleased by the jury’s decision.

“I can get on with my life,” Thomas said, wiping away tears. “I can live more peacefully.”

Jones, the defense’s only witness, maintained it was an accident.

“The only way to let people know they’re not going to get away with this is to take someone to trial and get a conviction,” Martin said.

The jury had the option of sentencing Jones, who sat stone-faced as the verdict was read, to life in prison. Instead, a sentencing hearing is set for 10 a.m. Tuesday.

The prosecution then will try to show that Jones is a nonviolent habitual offender. If the court accepts that motion, Jones must receive the maximum penalty for each of the charges. Jones was convicted of possession of cocaine in 1998 and 2002.

For aggravated assault, the maximum penalty is 20 years; for kidnapping, it’s 30; and for a felon in possession of a weapon, the penalty is three years.

A month ago, the district attorney’s office successfully convicted Bobby Taylor of aggravated assault with extreme indifference after he set his girlfriend, Doris Jackson, on fire. Taylor is serving a 10-year sentence in the Mississippi State Penitentiary.