FROM: Office of the District Attorney General, 26th Judicial District, Jody Pickens

“Sixty-two years may sound like a long prison sentence, and it is,” said District Attorney General Jody S. Pickens. “But our legislature – and this office – takes cases like these very seriously. Offenders like gang member Kentavis Antwon Jones, who had just been released from prison on a sentence that involved employing a firearm to endanger the lives of others, should be on notice that if you continue to violate the law by participating in drug trafficking and use a firearm to protect your endeavor, you will face serious consequences.

“Even after the Tennessee Department of Correction had released him, Jones chose to pursue a criminal lifestyle. Being caught multiple times with drugs and a firearm after having just been released from prison, Jones triggered an enhancement statute that carries a very stiff mandatory prison sentence.

“We hope that this sentence causes word to spread that felons with prior dangerous felony convictions need to think twice before carrying firearms again and engaging in drug trafficking. When they do, they not only proliferate violence on our streets, they also risk going back to prison for a very, very long time.”

On January 23, 2019, TDOC released documented Crips gang member and convicted felon Kentavis Antwon Jones of Jackson, Tennessee, from prison.

At the time of his release, Jones had served approximately six years of an eighteen-year prison sentence for Aggravated Assault (2 counts), Felony Reckless Endangerment, and Employing a Firearm During the Commission of a Dangerous Felony. In addition to the aforementioned convictions, Jones had been previously convicted of Felony Evading Arrest.

On August 17, 2019, approximately eight months after Jones was paroled, Sergeant Daniel Washburn, then-Lieutenant Justin Harris, and Officer Ron Dewald of the Jackson Police Department conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle in which Jones was a passenger. Officers seized a large quantity of methamphetamine, marijuana, and a firearm during the traffic stop, and they knew Jones to already be a felon. He was arrested and charged with various drug and firearm-related offenses.

On October 12, 2019, while on bond for the August 17, 2019, incident, Officer Joshua Keller and Investigator Robert Pomeroy of the Jackson Police Department conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle in which Jones was driving and saw him switch seats with his front passenger. During the stop, Jones was again found to be in possession of a large quantity of cocaine and marijuana, as well as a firearm. Jones was arrested again and charged a second time.

On June 1, 2020, the Madison County Grand Jury indicted Jones in these two separate incidents. The first indictment was for Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Sell or Deliver, Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Sell or Deliver, and Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Dangerous Felony.

The second indictment was for Possession of Cocaine with Intent to Sell or Deliver, Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Sell or Deliver, Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Dangerous Felony, Theft of Property, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Driving on a Revoked License.

On July 15, 2021, after a one-day trial, Kentavis Antwon Jones was convicted by a Madison County, Tennessee Jury of Possession of Cocaine with Intent to Sell or Deliver, Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Sell or Deliver, Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Dangerous Felony, Theft of Property, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Driving on a Revoked License. Judge Donald Allen eventually sentenced Jones to a total effective sentence of thirty-one years in TDOC for the offenses in this particular indictment.

On July 30, 2021, Jones pled guilty in the remaining indictment to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Sell or Deliver, and Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Dangerous Felony and received a thirteen-year sentence to serve in the TDOC.

Because Jones committed serious felony offenses after having been released from TDOC and then later while on bond, the law mandates consecutive sentencing. Judge Donald Allen ordered the thirty-one and thirteen-year sentences to run consecutively to each other, as well as to the remainder of the eighteen-year sentence Jones had not finished serving at the time he was released from prison, for an effective sentence of sixty-two years. Jones’ sentences were enhanced by Tennessee’s “Crooks with Guns” law, which imposes especially stern penalties on offenders who are convicted of possessing a firearm during a dangerous felony when they already have a similar prior felony convictions. He will not be eligible for parole until he serves approximately thirty-six years.

Assistant District Attorney General Bradley F. Champine represented the State of Tennessee in all prosecutions.

(PHOTO: Jody Pickens – District Attorney General, 26th Judicial District)