State drops battery charge against Marion County Sheriff's Office supervisor
A Sheriff's Office supervisor charged several months ago with simple domestic battery has returned to work after his case was dropped by the State Attorney's Office.
According to court documents and Marion County Sheriff's Office reports, prosecutors said that although there was enough evidence to file a charge, "the likelihood of conviction was slight."
At the time of Sgt. Joshua Logan Sones' arrest, he had been on unpaid leave until the case was resolved, officials said. Sones was represented by local defense lawyer Bill Ramputi.
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Administrative review
From Sones' administrative review done by MCSO's Inspector Sgt. Dustin Bowers, Sones admitted to hitting a woman with a HDMI cord. Bowers concluded that Sones had violated the department's code of conduct directive.
Circuit Judge Jennifer Bass, who presided over the domestic violence injunction, heard testimonies from both sides. The judge believed Sones and the woman "were mutual combatants," Bowers said in the report. Bass ruled that the alleged victim didn't meet the burden of proof for the court to issue an injunction for protection against domestic violence.
When Sones, 46, was arrested in July, one of his pre-trial release conditions was that he could not consume any alcohol. In the report, Bowers wrote that Sones consumed or possessed alcohol, which violated his pre-trial release and their discipline policy.
Interviewed by Bowers, Sones, who was represented by local attorney Jimmie Sparrow, told the investigator he didn't remember the judge saying he could not consume alcohol. He said he remembers reviewing the paperwork given to him, but didn't see anything indicating he could not drink alcohol.
Sones, who works in the MCSO's Detention Bureau and has been with the department for close to 20 years, was given 40 hours of suspension, according to Sheriff's Office's documents. His final recommended discipline was a five-day suspension without pay. The deputy returned to work last month, officials said.
— Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com.
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Marion County Sheriff's Office supervisor has battery charge dropped
