Contact: Tom Asker, Deputy District Attorney
Gang
Unit
Telephone: 874-8406
District Attorney Jan Scully today
announced the jury trial conviction of Shanon Bell for 1st degree murder of
Jemauz Jones. On September 4, 2004, in front of a crowd of close to 100
people in the parking lot of a popular bar at 3274 Northgate Boulevard,
Shanon Bell walked up to Mr. Jones, called him a “snitch”, and shot him five
times, killing him instantly. Initially, not a single person came forward to
police with identifying information about the killer. Thanks to the tireless
efforts of Sacramento Police Detectives Scott MacLafferty and Eric
Schneider, Shanon Bell was developed as the prime suspect in the murder and,
after 18 days on the run and a wild pursuit, was captured and brought into
custody.
The motive behind the killing turned out to be Jemauz Jones’s role in
providing incriminating information to the police regarding Dundell Wright,
who on February 9, 1999, murdered Sacramento Police Officer Billy Bean in
the line of duty. At sentencing now set for November 4, 2005, in front of
the Honorable Gary Mullen, Bell faces 51 years to life in prison.
Deputy District Attorney Thomas Asker, who prosecuted the case, indicated,
“It is killers like Shanon Bell, who through repeated acts of mayhem and
murder, instill the kind of fear and intimidation in the citizens of their
neighborhoods that make it so difficult for law enforcement to get any
cooperation in solving future crimes in those neighborhoods. If Shanon Bell
had not been captured and prosecuted for this murder, it would only have
been a matter of time before he killed again. By rendering the right
verdict, the jury who convicted Mr. Bell has made the Strawberry Manors a
safer place.”
