California Department of Corrections arrested for beating up bank manager over Covid mask
Grover Beach CA Sept 17 2021
A corrections officer with the California Men’s Colony was arrested for allegedly beating a Wells Fargo bank manager and calling him racial slurs after the officer was asked to wear a mask in the building, police said.
On Tuesday, the Grover Beach Police Department announced it had arrested James Allen Jones Jr. of Grover Beach on felony charges of committing a hate crime, making criminal threats and battery with serious bodily injury.
On Sept. 3, a man entered the Wells Fargo branch on Grand Avenue without a mask.
A bank manager, who asked to remain anonymous when talking with The Tribune, said he asked the man to put on a face mask. At that point, the manager said, the man became extremely aggressive, called the manager a racist slur and caused a commotion in the bank lobby.
Later that evening, the manager said the man showed up in the parking lot and attempted to beat him up. The two fought, but then the man fled the scene and police arrived, according to the manager.
According to Tuesday’s news release from Grover Beach police, officers who arrived at the scene located articles of the man’s clothing and launched an investigation into the incident.
Over the next 10 days, officers and detectives collected evidence including witness statements, video footage and photos of the suspect from the scene to determine his identity, according to the release.
On Tuesday, detectives served a search warrant for Jones’ home and property, and Jones was taken into custody at his workplace, the agency said.
According to the release, Jones is employed as a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation corrections officer at the California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo.
CMC officers were “helpful in making the arrest and turning Mr. Jones over to our detectives at the institution,” according to the release.
Jones’ bail was set at $50,000. As of Tuesday evening, Jones was no longer in custody.
