Ron Jones...Resting In Peace

Last week I received an email from a friend of mine on our college website regarding a friend who went to school with us. I clicked on the link and it said:

"Parents Grateful For Arrest in 18-Year-Old Cold Case"
COURTESY OF WWW.WUSA9.COM

A life of promise snatched away 18 years ago, is a loss still fresh in the hearts and minds of the parents of Ron Jones, Jr.



"You take anybody's life and you don't know how it affects the rest of the family, your friends," said the murder victims father, Ron Jones, Sr.

"It takes a part of your heart out that no matter what happens. you'll never have that part again. It's hard," said his wife, Deedra.

The couple has longed for closure and hoped for an arrest in the murder of their only son. DC Police say they have solved the cold case that has haunted the 22-year-old victim's family for almost two decades.

"I wanted to be strong for my family, and being in the field at that time, I thought I was standing up for them. When he told me that they had actually made an arrest, I was glad I was sitting down because it really overcame me," said Jones, Sr.

"There are no words to express how grateful we are for what they've done. I mean, there are no words. Thank you...thank you," said the victim's mother.

It was July 13, 1990 when a gunman opened fire on the car the police officer's son was riding in with three friends near 5th Street and Massachusetts Avenue, NW The road rage incident left DC homicide detectives with few clues except a composite drawing of the killer.

Forty-year-old John Brugada Holmes was arrested. He had been serving time for on a federal fraud 2004 conviction when police charged him with 2nd degree murder. Detectives Rita McCoy and Oliver Garvey solved the cold case.

"The detectives who work for me put in the effort and kept at it. We don't forget. We don't forget any of our victims ," said Lt. Michael Farish, Superintendent of the Detectives Division.

Jones, who was a star quarterback at Norfolk State University, had just graduated. He had been accepted into Howard University's Law School when the shooting took his life and destroyed his parents' hopes for his future. They will be in the courtroom when Holmes is arraigned on the murder charge.

"I don't know how I will make it through that, but I will. I have to. I've waited for this. I've prayed for this," said Mrs. Jones.

"He was a great kid, you know. I think that's what keeps us going. He was a good kid," said Jones, Sr.

I sat here reading the article with tears in my eyes. I met Ron as a sophomore during basketball intramural games and he was polite, funny, and yes, fine. Underneath the looks was a highly intelligent young man who always gave you advice when you needed it.

I was in DC the summer he was killed, and I can remember it like it was yesterday. My roommate & I were going out when she got the call and needless to say we were both in shock. Why would someone take someone's life over some foolishness?

Ron's death left me angry and hurt because he had such promise and to have it gone in the blink of an eye just didn't make sense to me. It did, however, bond me with people who are still my friends to this day, because we collectively grieved for him.

I hope the person ( he's not worth naming as far as I'm concerned) suffers for ruining someone's life & his family's life, and I hope that Ron is resting in peace now.

Ron, you are still missed, more than you know.