A grand jury has upgraded the charges against a Farmington man accused of fatally shooting his girlfriend on Christmas Eve.
Demarco Marquie Jones, 30, was indicted by a Dakota County grand jury on two counts of first-degree murder and one count of second-degree intentional murder. Jones was originally charged with second-degree murder on Dec. 29.
The victim, 26-year-old Tatianna Marie Ehnes-Giles, was shot and killed on Wednesday, Dec. 24 at a home in Castle Rock Township.
According to the original criminal complaint, deputies responded to a 911 call from Ehnes-Giles’ mother around 2:20 p.m. The mother reported that Ehnes-Giles had been shot in the head by Jones, her boyfriend, and was not breathing.
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Deputies found Jones at the top of the stairs with blood on his hands and the back of his head. He told deputies the gun was “in the room.”
Ehnes-Giles was found in a bedroom on a bed with head injuries and was confirmed deceased. A handgun and two spent shell casings were also found. An autopsy determined she died from a single gunshot wound to the head, and her manner of death was ruled a homicide.
Jones and Ehnes-Giles lived upstairs in the home with their two children. The victim’s mother and brother lived downstairs.
One of the first-degree murder counts charges Jones with committing murder while engaged in a pattern of domestic abuse. Court records show Jones was charged in 2018 in Sherburne County with fifth-degree domestic assault after an incident at a wedding celebration in Elk River.
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He pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and the domestic assault charge was dismissed. Jones also has a 2013 juvenile adjudication for fifth-degree assault in Hennepin County.
Prosecutors filed a notice of intent to seek aggravated sentencing on March 13 and a notice of intent to present the case to a grand jury on April 8.
Jones remains in custody at the Dakota County Jail on $2 million bail. His next court appearance, a first appearance on the indictment, is scheduled for Monday at 1 p.m. First-degree premeditated murder carries a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of release.
