Biography
Jones was active in the late-1960s/early-1970s Black Power milieu as a former Black Panther and later became known in California as a community figure while also being drawn into a long-running, decades-old homicide investigation.
In 2007 he was arrested at his home in Altadena as part of the “San Francisco 8” case, accused alongside other former Panthers in the 1971 killing of a San Francisco Police Department sergeant. An earlier prosecution in the 1970s had been derailed after a judge ruled key evidence was obtained through torture; after extensive pretrial litigation and a narrowing of the case, charges against Jones were ultimately dismissed in 2009.
The Malcolm X Grassroots Movement submission reports that Jones, Boudreaux and John Bowman were detained in August 2005 for refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating the 1971 San Francisco police killing. This contempt episode preceded the separate 2007 prosecution. The submission gives the month of detention but no actual discharge day or complete custody duration, and attributes allegations of torture in the earlier 1973 investigation to the advocacy account. Source: https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/media/publications/10.%20Political%20Prisoners%20in%20the%20United%20States%2C%20ICCPR%20Coalition%20Report.pdf#page=10
