Little Rock Airman convicted, sentenced in court-martial Published Jan. 27, 2009 By Tech. Sgt. Kati Garcia 19th Airlift Wing Public Affairs LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark. (AFNS) -- A Little Rock Air Force Base Airman was found guilty of participating in a gang initiation that resulted in the 2005 death of a Soldier stationed at a military base in Germany in a court-martial Jan. 23 here. Staff Sgt. Jerome A. Jones Jr., assigned to the 314th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, was sentenced to a reduction in rank to E-1, a dishonorable discharge and two years confinement following a nine-day court-martial. The crew chief was found guilty of aggravated assault, two counts of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, participating in gang activity, possession and use of marijuana and failure to obey an order or regulation. Prior to sentencing, the maximum confinement Sergeant Jones' could have received was capped at 17.5 years. Prosecutors alleged that Sergeant Jones and others stationed at Kaiserslautern, Germany, beat Army Sgt. Juwan Johnson as part of a "gang-style" initiation the night of July 3, 2005. Sergeant Johnson was found dead in his barracks room July 4, 2005. Sergeant Jones entered a plea of not guilty to all charges including involuntary manslaughter, three counts of conspiracy, two counts of obstruction of justice, one count each of use and possession of a controlled substance, failure to obey an order or regulation and being an accessory after the fact. Sergeant Jones was one of 11 former or current servicemembers accused of either being present for or participating in an initiation ceremony for Sergeant Johnson. To date, two Soldiers and one other Airman have been convicted and sentenced to confinement and another Soldier was acquitted. The five-member court panel, similar to a jury in civilian cases, was comprised of two Air Force officers and three Air Force NCO, all of whom are stationed here. Officials said Sergeant Jones was assigned to Little Rock AFB as a normal permanent change of station move prior to being implicated in the investigation. This resulted in the court-martial being held here even though he was stationed in Germany at the time the events occurred. Although the case had strong ties to gang activity, officials stress that gangs are not an issue across the Air Force. During a three-year study ranging from 2005 to 2007 -- the last year statistics were available -- members of Air Force Office of Special Investigations found only 15 cases were active gang involvement or activity was confirmed or suspect. These numbers are for the entire Air Force population of 324,600 Airmen. Leaders here also stress that any involvement with a gang or gang activity is a violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Airmen who violate this prohibition are subject to disciplinary action under UCMJ Article 92, in addition to any other appropriate articles of the UCMJ. Sergeant Jones' sentence will begin immediately. Comment on this story (comments may be published on Air Force Link) View the comments/letters page