Wabeno man guilty of attempted murder
CRANDON (WAOW) – In less than two hours Friday, a jury found a Wabeno man guilty of attempting to murder a 40-year-old man who was attacked, tortured and left in some woods for wolves to devour, according to online Forest County court records.
Raymond Jones, 46, was convicted of attempted first-degree intentional homicide, kidnapping and aggravated battery following three days of testimony, court records said.
A seven-man, five-woman jury deliberated about 90 minutes before handing down the verdicts.
Jones, who is to be sentenced Aug. 11, was one of four people charged in the bizarre case that unfolded about a year ago.
Prosecutors say the 40-year-old man was beaten and tortured inside a Wabeno home in March 2014 because his attackers believed he touched a child inappropriately.
Prosecutors say the suspects left the man in the woods near Crandon for almost two days hoping wolves would attack him. Two ATV drivers found the man who had a broken jaw, two broken ribs, one foot that was completely frozen and was near death, according to court records.
At the start of a trial, Jones pleaded no contest to five charges, including felony false imprisonment and strangulation, leaving the most serious felonies to be resolved by jurors, court records said.
Jones did not testify in his own defense.
Charges against three of the suspects were resolved in plea deals.
Justin Bey, 22, pleaded guilty to participating in second-degree attempted homicide in a plea deal that allows prosecutors to argue that he be sentenced to 20 years in prison, according to court records. He also pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and kidnapping.
Bey, who initially pleaded insanity to eight charges in the attack, is to be sentenced Aug. 11. His plea deal called for him to testify in Jones' trial.
Samantha McClellan, 19, pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery and disorderly conduct and she was placed on 18 months probation, court records said.
April Jones, 38, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery and was sentenced to nine months in prison, court records said. She was given credit for about six months already spent in jail.