Marietta Men Sentenced In College Student's Killing

MARIETTA, GA — Two Marietta men were sentenced to prison Friday for their role in the killing of a Clark Atlanta University student during an armed robbery they set up with a fake Craigslist ad.

Jordan James Baker, 21, and Jonathon O'Neil Myles, 22, both pleaded guilty to armed robbery, robbery by force and gang charges in the February 2015 killing of 21-year-old James Jones. Kalynn Shiquez Ruthenberg, 24, a member of the Crips street gang, was convicted in November of murder, aggravated assault and other charges in the case.

On Friday, Cobb Superior Court Judge Stephen sentenced Myles and Baker to 30 years, with 20 years to serve in prison and the balance on probation. Both testified during the trial of Ruthenberg, who was sentencded to life in prison without parole, plus 25 years.

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According to testimony, Jones had responded to an ad on Craigslist advertising an iPhone for sale. Evidence showed that Ruthenberg, Myles and Baker had posted the ad in order to lure someone they could rob. It was not the first time they had done so, prosecutors said.

On Feb. 9, 2015, Jones went to a house on Jamaica Cover in Marietta to buy the iPhone and was confronted by the men, who stole his cellphone. Ruthenberg shot Jones with a .45-caliber handgun and, as he lay dying, told one of the other two to take his Nike shoes off of him. He then shot Jones again.

Jones was a junior majoring in chemistry at Clark Atlanta.

On Friday, his brother, Samuel Heath, told the judge that Jones was working to become a doctor, calling him "an amazing young man doing some amazing things with his life." According to the Cobb County District Attorney's office, Jones' family was not completely satisfied with the sentences, but accepted them.

"My mother feels that 20 years from now, she still won’t have her son, and it’s not fair," Heath said, according to prosecutors. "It’s been a long three years ... . We never want anyone to experience this nightmare."

Baker’s father also addressed the court, expressing his remorse to Jones’ family and asking for a second chance for his son, who was 18 at the time of the killing. Myles was 19 at the time.

"In these cases, there really are no adequate words or numbers that account for the grief and sense of loss that a victim’s family members are suffering from," said chief assistant district attorney Jesse Evans, who prosecuted the case, said in a news release. "Their pain is very real. That said, the family in this case expressed gratitude and relief that we were successful in holding their loved one’s killer and his accomplices accountable for their crimes."

Top photo via Shutterstock. Bottom photo, L-R: Jordan Baker, Jonathan Myles, Kaylnn Ruthenberg. Courtesy Cobb County Sheriff's Office.