KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — A suspect arrested in connection to a hostage situation and murder will stand trial on several charges, WOOD TV 8 announced Monday.
A preliminary hearing took place Monday and after several hours of testimony a judge ruled that there was enough evidence to take 35-year-old William Paul Jones of Battle Creek to Kalamazoo County Circuit Court.
Jones faces 19 felony counts for the death of Christopher Neal on December 1st, 2019. The 22-year-old father was shot by Jones after he broke into his Comstock Township home on Proctor Avenue. His wife and young daughter were unharmed.
Court documents reveal that Jones had been exhibiting paranoid and erratic behavior in the days leading up to the incident. He had broken into Neal’s home after holding another friend hostage in a vehicle.
Investigators say that both Neal and Jones did not know each other before the standoff.
Three responding officers were shot and suffered non life-threatening injuries including State Trooper Mark Fletcher, Kalamazoo Public Safety Officer Caleb Jones and Kalamazoo sheriff’s deputy Noah Susick.
All injured officers made recoveries.
A short time later, Jones was apprehended after attempting to escape by diving through a window.
Monday, Jones was back in court after being declared fit to stand trial. WOOD TV 8 reported that a judge ruled he will face the following 19 charges:
- open murder
- felony murder
- three counts of assault with intent to commit murder
- first-degree home invasion
- unlawful imprisonment
- being a felon in possession of a firearm
- being a felon in possession of ammunition
- assaulting, resisting and obstructing an officer
- nine counts of felony firearm
His next trial date was not immediately reported.
Neal’s wife Haley Coe, who gave birth to their son in July, testified during the preliminary hearing on Monday, saying that Jones terrorized her family as he waved two guns in the air. Haley hid upstairs with their young daughter during the incident.
Family members called Neal a hero as he negotiated with Jones during the hostage situation to keep his small family safe.
Late last month, Kalamazoo County Sheriff Richard Fuller presented the Kalamazoo County Consolidated Dispatch Authority dispatchers who communicated with Jones during the incident with the Sheriff’s Award of Excellence.
His statement can be read here.
