• A jury convicted Sha’King Jones of two counts each of murder and felonious assault and one count of having weapons while under disability, according to the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office.
• He was found not guilty of one count of aggravated robbery.
Who was involved?
• Jones reportedly shot and killed 30-year-old Darnell Pate Jr. on Jan. 29, 2024, outside Napoleon’s bar.
• Pate occasionally worked as a security guard at the bar, according to the prosecutor’s office.
• Pate previously worked in law enforcement at different police departments in Southwest Ohio, including briefly serving as interim chief of the New Vienna Police Department. He also worked for police departments in Addyston on the west edge of Cincinnati, and in New Holland near Washington Court House. According to WXIX in Cincinnati, he was terminated from his roles with Addyston and New Vienna.
• Julien Swindle was reportedly Jones’ getaway driver. He pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery and involuntary manslaughter charges and was sentenced to 15 to 19.5 years in prison, according to Montgomery County Common Pleas Court records.
What happened?
• Around 2:50 a.m. on Jan. 29, 2024, Montgomery County sheriff’s deputies responded to Napoleon’s on Germantown Pike for a report of a person shot in a vehicle.
• When deputies arrived, they found a vehicle running with the passenger side door open. Pate was dead in the driver’s seat, according to the prosecutor’s office.
• Investigators found a crashed Hyundai Tucson nearby on Ericson Avenue. The Hyundai was reportedly stolen from Huber Heights.
• With the help of surveillance video, cellphone records and fingerprints, investigators were able to identify Jones as the shooter, according to Montgomery County Municipal Court - Western Division records.
What’s next?
• Jones is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 4.
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