MT. AIRY — A Cincinnati police officer was arrested and charged this week
with a violent attack on his girlfriend that left her unconscious.
It’s the second time in a month the District 1 officer has been accused of
assaulting the same woman, according to complaints filed in Hamilton County
Municipal Court.
Kevin Jones, 27, of Colerain Township broke into 24-year-old Megan Thomas’
apartment in the 2300 block of West Northbend Road in Mt. Airy about 4 a.m.
Monday, his arrest slip states.
He gained entry after identifying himself as a Cincinnati police officer,
wrote Sgt. Eric Vogelpohl of the police department's Professional Standards
Section in a court complaint.
Jones allegedly took the woman’s cell phone and, as the two argued, pushed
her head into a brick wall, knocking her "unconscious for an undetermined
amount of time," the complaint states.
After, he hopped into his car and fled the scene.
Jones was arrested that night on charges of felonious assault and burglary
and booked into the county jail about 10:30 p.m., jail officials said today.
When he appeared before a municipal court judge on Tuesday morning, bond
was set at $70,000.
Jones also was ordered to stay away from Thomas and to wear an electronic
monitoring system on his ankle upon release from jail.
He posted bond and left the jail at 1:47 p.m. Thursday, jail officials
said.
The case will go before a grand jury for possible indictment on June 28.
This is the second time in a month the police officer has been arrested and
charged with attacking Thomas, according to court records.
Another case is pending for an alleged assault at Thomas’ apartment about
3:30 a.m. May 19.
In that situation, Jones faces two counts of misdemeanor assault.
Cincinnati police said today Jones has been stripped of his police powers,
badge and gun.
Jones has been working on desk duty since the May 19 incident, when he
struck Thomas four times on her face and body and then hit a second woman,
Angelica Ford, during an argument with Thomas, according to court records again
signed by Vogelpohl.
Jones was arrested but released on his own recognizance and ordered to stay
away from both women.
He has pleaded not guilty.
That case is scheduled to come up on July 9 before Hamilton County
Municipal Court Judge Ted Berry.
Jones' lawyer, Hal Arenstein, said today that "the situation is blown
way out of proportion and Officer Jones is not guilty of the allegations made
against him."
Jones has a troubled history with the police department.
Police supervisors yanked his driving privileges in 2009 after he caused
his fourth on-duty accident in 18 months.
Fellow officers and medics rushed to his aid just after midnight Nov. 3
after he flipped his police cruiser on Interstate 71. At the time, he was
pursuing a driver who sped off when Jones tried to stop him for illegal
parking.
It was a clear night with light traffic and the road was dry, according to
the crash report.
An internal investigation determined Jones "swerved to avoid a vehicle
and failed to control (the) vehicle, striking guardrail, causing (the) vehicle
to overturn."
Jones was wearing a seat belt and was able to crawl out of the cruiser with
minor injuries, according to reports from the scene and police.
The 2004 Crown Victoria cruiser was so badly wrecked, police officials
chose to scrap it it when the bill to fix it was estimated at $14,600 in
damages and labor.
Jones declined comment at the time, as did his supervisors.
An internal investigation determined Jones' highest speed was 65 mph and
recommended disciplinary action, calling the crash "preventable" had
Jones been "more familiar with the handling of police equipment he is
operating in pursuit mode."
Jones was assigned to work with a senior officer – who drove all motor
vehicles – until Jones underwent additional driver's training through the Police
Academy, including at least three sessions with the driving simulator.
Jones was hired June 17, 2007, joining the 101st recruit class, and was
promoted to police officer Dec. 16, 2007.
His first crash occurred seven months into his first assignment, according
to police records.
On June 11, 2008, Jones received "written counseling" after he
backed a police vehicle into a "fixed object."
Two months later, when Jones "made a left turn into the path of
another vehicle causing an accident," he was sent to driver's training and
the incident was added to his employee supplemental log.
On Feb. 11, 2009, Jones received a written reprimand after he drove over a
concrete parking curb while leaving a police parking lot.
No one answered the door at Thomas' second-story apartment this morning.
Brenda Williams, who lives downstairs, said she hears yelling and fighting
coming from the unit "constantly."
She also has complained to the landlord.
"It has been a big old mess up there," Williams said, folding her
arms across her chest. "I have been upset but my boyfriend stopped me from
going up there to knock on the door. There's been times I had to go up there
and knock on the door to ask this lady to give me some respect because I live
up under her.
"This mess started about a month or two after she moved in here and
she ain't lived here even a year,” said Williams, 50. "He was always here,
the cop was. There's been times they have been carrying on and fighting. He
would never come in his uniform. He would always come in his plain clothes, but
he's got one of those police stickers on his truck."
Williams said she was home when police arrived at the apartment building on
May 19.
"They were up there fighting. It went on all night long. The police
came about 6 a.m. and took a report," Williams recalled. "That's when
I called the landlord because I could hear all this foolishness going on. When
I went to knock on her door to complain, she was very disrespectful to me and
used profanity."
Williams hopes the latest arrest brings peace to the building.
"It has been terrible since she been here. There has been drama,"
Williams said.
She was not home early Monday when the latest fight broke out between the
couple. But she said glass was busted out on the ground in front of the front door
to the building.
"It's crazy. It crazy. Domestic violence ain't nothing to play with,
especially with him carrying a gun," Williams said.