‘Jekyll and Hyde’ serial rapist, community activist sentenced to 220+ years in WA prison
The mother of convicted Tri-Cities serial rapist begged a judge for mercy for her son on Friday.
But Judge Diana Ruff said she couldn’t show Brandon L. Jones more mercy than he’d shown the 12 women he attacked.
“You showed no mercy to your victims. ... You fooled your family. You fooled your friends. But you didn’t fool the jury,” Ruff told him. “At your core you are a serial rapist and you are a robber. ... There is zero reason for me to show you any mercy.”
A jury convicted Jones of 11 counts of first-degree rape, six counts of first-degree robbery and 4 charges of attempted first-degree robbery following a three-week trial in March.
Each sentence for first-degree rape must be served separately for a total range of 194 of 226 years in prison, said Benton County Deputy Prosecutor Anita Petra.
Ruff handed down the maximum sentence following an emotional two-hour hearing in Benton County Superior Court.
For two years, Jones targeted sex workers through a website that allows escorts to post ads looking for work.
Petra said he chose them because they were the least likely to report the attacks.
Jones, now 28, was a prominent figure in one of the three Black Lives Matter groups in the Tri-Cities during the 2020 protests following the murder of George Floyd.
At his sentencing, he maintained his innocence, saying he is a social justice advocate who is a voice for people without one.
“I went into this knowing that this entire thing is stacked against me,” Jones said. “I want the system to know that I’m going to carry that weight on my back.”
He thanked everyone involved for the time and effort that they put into the trial. He said he still believes in the system and loves the Tri-Cities community. His attorney Tim Dickerson said Jones plans to appeal his convictions.
Serial rapist
For each of the 12 attacks from August 2020 to 2022, Jones scheduled a meeting with each woman in a motel room, in his car or once at a home.
Many of the victims testified that he pressed a gun against them as he raped them. Two were raped twice. At least one overdosed from drugs taken after the attack.
Later, he also joined an internet forum discussion where escorts shared information and tried to discourage one victim from calling the police.
Before the sentencing hearing, three victims submitted statements for Judge Ruff to consider.
They noted that he chose to prey on the most vulnerable women, and asked Ruff to sentence Jones to the maximum.
“He made me feel like a piece of meat. I’m usually so strong. I always thought my response would be to fight. ... I didn’t. I froze,” one of them said. “He didn’t care about what he was doing to us. I hope that he gets the same punishment every day.”
Another one pointed out that Jones cried when the verdict was read and said she was sure his actions made her feel worse.
Maintains his innocence
Jones’ mother, Felicia Jones, spoke at Friday’s hearing online from Boston.
She said Jones comes from a good family, and that she and Jones’ father, a police officer, raised their children to have good morals.
“My son is innocent in this,” Felicia Jones said. “My son Brandon Lamon Jones is an awesome individual. ... These are not the actions of Brandon Lamon Jones. ... I hope you have mercy on my only son today.”
Other members of his family also supported Jones, saying they loved him and would continue to fight the convictions.
Jones maintained throughout the trial that he is innocent. He testified that he paid the women for sex, but denied raping or robbing them.
On Friday, he said the two years awaiting trial and the three-week trial were grueling and intense.
He called himself a model citizen who loved the country and supports the justice system. He sees himself as giving a voice to people without one and plans to continue that work.
Dickerson told the judge that Jones intends to use his time wisely in prison and plans to be a model inmate.
“He’s going to do the best that he can to make the best of the situation he finds himself in,” Dickerson said.
Rape sentence
Ruff did not mince words as she sentenced Jones.
She noted that each of the women described the fear for their lives and the feeling of the gun pressed against their bodies. The women believed they were going to die at the hands of their rapist.
She noted the hypocrisy of saying he was a voice for the voiceless, when he stripped these women of their voice, their agency and dignity. She said they would never feel whole because of what he did.
“You didn’t kill any of them. You let them live with their sense of shame,” she said. “You showed no love to these women. You treated them as less than human. ... You don’t care about equality or respect.”
She ordered him to undergo a mental health evaluation once he gets to a Washington state prison, saying that he had a level of cognitive dissonance worthy of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Ruff said the sheer scale of his crimes the level of planning and the devastating effects, made it worthy of a sentence at the top of the range.
“This is the least that I can do to make them feel safe is to put you behind bars for as long as possible,” she said.
