A man who lost his job teaching at Trinity Chrtistian School in Texarkana, Ark., for allegedly filming boys secretively in bathrooms at the school and in a Texarkana, Texas, department store was in court Monday for a pretrial hearing in Bowie County.
Shane Samuel Jones, 31, appeared for a pretrial hearing Monday morning before 202nd District Judge John Tidwell with Texarkana lawyers Danny Cook and Bart Craytor. Earlier this year, Cook filed a motion on Jones’ behalf for a change of venue in the case citing extensive pretrial publicity. Cook claims news coverage and social media discussions about the case have made it impossible for Jones to get a fair trial in Bowie County.
Tidwell scheduled a hearing to address the change of venue motion for Thursday at the Bowie County courthouse in New Boston.
Jones is facing a charge of invasive visual recording in Bowie County. He was arrested in November after an 11-year-old boy told his parents that someone slipped a cell phone under the stall divider while he was using a restroom at J.C. Penney in Central Mall in Texarkana.
During an interview with investigators, Jones allegedly confessed to filming boys in bathrooms at Trinity Christian School also. He is facing charges of voyeurism and video voyeurism in Miller County. Cook has filed a motion to change venue in Jones’ case in Miller County which cites the same concerns about pretrial publicity as the motion filed in Bowie County.
In February, Tidwell refused to accept a plea deal which would have placed Jones in probation in lieu of time behind bars. If convicted of invasive visual recording in Bowie County, Texas, Jones faces six months to two years in a Texas state jail. If a jury recommends it, Jones could still receive a term of probation.
Each of the voyeurism charges pending in Miller County, Ark., is punishable by up to six years in prison and a fine up to $10,000. Jones is scheduled to appear before Circuit Judge Brent Haltom for a pretrial hearing in August.
