Two Inmates Face New Felony Charges in Hennepin Jail stabbing

Jul 31

Two men already in custody at the Hennepin County Jail have been charged with first-degree assault for a planned attack that left another inmate with permanent hearing loss.

The incident happened around 2:43 p.m. on July 16 in the Quad 14 dayroom of the downtown Minneapolis jail.

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Surveillance video captured Joshua Anthony Jones, 37, and David James Cook Jr., 28, coordinating an attack on another inmate who suffered significant injuries to his ear, including a near-complete eardrum tear and long-term hearing damage.

According to the criminal complaints, Jones concealed two sharpened pencils in his hand and spoke to Cook while gesturing toward the victim. Cook then ran upstairs to retrieve kitchen worker shoes, which offer better grip than the flip-flops inmates typically wear. He returned and dropped the shoes at Jones’s feet. Jones put them on while still holding the pencils, and Cook then approached the victim.

The footage reportedly showed Jones punching the victim in the head with the pencils protruding from his fist, driving one into the victim’s ear canal. Cook joined in, and both men continued to hit the victim as he was forced into a corner. The violence continued until deputies rushed in and deployed tasers. One round hit Jones without effect, and another struck the victim, causing both to fall.

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A deputy saw a pencil sticking out of the victim’s ear. The man was taken to the hospital, where a 9mm pencil tip was removed from his head. Doctors documented multiple lacerations inside the ear and a perforated eardrum. Subsequent testing revealed sensorineural hearing loss, a permanent condition. The victim also reported dizziness, ringing in his ear, and balance issues in the days after the assault.

Investigators say Jones later claimed he was fixing his shoe during the incident. Cook denied fighting and said he only saw the victim swing at Jones, whom he referred to as his cousin. The victim told deputies that Jones had been threatening him and bragging about having “four bodies,” and said both men had been extorting others in the jail, making people fearful.

Jones is awaiting sentencing in two second-degree murder cases, to which he pleaded guilty on July 23. He was previously found with a makeshift shank in his cell in June, made from a broken comb and sharpened metal. Prosecutors plan to introduce both the prior murders and the shank as evidence in the new case.

Cook remains in custody on separate weapons and narcotics charges. Investigators say both he and Jones are identified members of the Native Mob gang.

Both men are charged with aiding and abetting first-degree assault with a dangerous weapon. Bail for each was set at $150,000 with conditions including no contact with the victim or each other.

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