DA: No charges in Jahi case

Insufficient evidence cited in boy's 2002 disappearance

By J. Harry Jones and Alex Roth

STAFF WRITERS

January 9, 2004

District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis is expected to announce today that charges are not being filed against the stepfather of 2-year-old Jahi Turner or anybody else in connection with the boy's 2002 disappearance.

"This case has undergone an exhaustive review and unfortunately there is no closure," Dumanis said in a statement obtained by The San Diego Union-Tribune.

San Diego police homicide Lt. Jim Duncan said investigators still think the boy was killed and have a suspect, but prosecutors decided not to risk losing a murder trial in case new evidence should surface later.

Jahi's disappearance came April 25, 2002, two months after the highly publicized abduction and slaying of Sabre Springs 7-year-old Danielle van Dam.

The boy's stepfather, Tieray Jones, told police he took the boy to a Balboa Park playground from a nearby apartment where they lived with the child's mother.

Jones said he left Jahi alone for 15 minutes to buy a soda. When he returned, he said, the boy was gone.

Jahi has not been seen since, and Duncan confirmed that Jones remains a suspect.

"The DA does not want to jeopardize a prosecution with double jeopardy," Duncan said of what might happen if a person were charged, tried and acquitted in the case. A defendant cannot be retried if acquitted.

"There's always the possibility that some hard evidence could be found later . . . and we wouldn't be able to pursue charges again."

In a prepared statement, Dumanis said the decision was made due to an "insufficiency of evidence."

"This case has been a priority among law enforcement officials ever since this child vanished," she said. "It was thoroughly investigated by the San Diego Police Department, and our office did an additional investigation.

"We assigned two veteran prosecutors and an investigator to scrutinize all of the evidence. . . . We have not forgotten this little boy. His disappearance still weighs heavy on our hearts. We encourage the public to report any new information about this case to law enforcement. The case remains open and any new evidence will be taken under consideration."

A day before Jahi was reported missing, law enforcement officials confirmed, a witness saw Jones lugging what appeared to be a large duffel bag, satchel or garbage bag to a trash bin near his Golden Hill apartment complex.

The information generated an exhaustive search by authorities of a section of the Miramar landfill where it was believed the contents of the trash bin would have been taken, but nothing related to the disappearance was found.

Jones has denied having anything to do with his stepson's disappearance. Attempts to contact him last night were unsuccessful.

Jones and Jahi lived in an apartment on Beech Street near Balboa Park. The boy's mother, Tameka Jones, was a sailor who was at sea when her husband reported Jahi missing.

According to law-enforcement officials familiar with the case, witnesses contradicted Jones' story about being in Balboa Park with Jahi, and no witnesses could place the child in the park that day.

The officials also said Jones kept a diary and made entries that described Jahi in a manner consistent with a child suffering from some type of head trauma, being listless, inactive.

Jahi's natural father said last night he has reached the painful conclusion that the child must be dead.

"I mean, I don't want to think that but I have no choice," said Tramane Sampson, 25, who lives in Frederick, Md.

Sampson said he sees Jones in Frederick from time to time. He said Jahi's mother recently gave birth to a baby boy fathered by Jones. The child now lives with the woman's grandmother, who also lives in Frederick, Sampson said.

Sampson said he was disappointed that the District Attorney's Office still hasn't filed any charges in the case.

"How much evidence do they need?" he said. "It's crazy, man, it's crazy."

Today's expected announcement is unusual in that the District Attorney's Office doesn't normally announce when it isn't going to file charges.

Duncan, however, said he thinks it makes sense.

"There was a lot of public concern with it happening right on the heels of Danielle van Dam," he said. "At this point it's time to let everybody know what's going on."

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J. Harry Jones: (619) 542-4590; jharry.jones@uniontrib.com

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Roth: (619) 542-4558; alex.roth@uniontrib.com

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Copyright 2004 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.