A Cordova man was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment, with five years suspended, plus five years’ probation, after pleading guilty to criminally negligent homicide in the case of a deadly 2019 road accident. Jesse James Jones, 52, was also sentenced to 365 days’ imprisonment, with 362 days suspended, plus a $1,500 fine and a 90-day revocation of his driver’s license, after pleading guilty to driving under the influence.
Jones was charged with manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, driving under the influence, and misconduct involving weapons in the fourth degree following an Oct. 8, 2019 SUV rollover into Eyak Lake in which Jones’s passenger, Andrey Plisko, died. Breath alcohol tests indicated Jones had a blood alcohol content of 0.177, more than twice the legal limit. Jones told police officers that he and Plisko had been shooting a shotgun near the end of Power Creek Road and were returning to town when the accident occurred, according to court documents. The charge of misconduct involving weapons in the fourth degree was later dismissed, and the charge of manslaughter dismissed in favor of the lesser charge of criminally negligent homicide, as part of a plea deal.
The state maintains that there was a sufficient factual basis to prove a charge of manslaughter against Jones, state attorney Glenn Shidner said at a July 15 sentencing hearing. However, the state chose instead to accept a guilty plea to criminally negligent homicide after taking into account Jones’s cooperative behavior, his participation in rehabilitation programs, and his lack of criminal history, Shidner said.
“[Jones and Plisko] were obviously out there shooting and drinking together and it was, in some sense, a roll of the dice which one would have been driving that day,” Shidner said. “They both were using firearms intoxicated and probably trying to have a good time… Whoever drove that car back, whoever it was going to be, was putting both their lives at risk that day.”
Attorney Moshe Zorea, representing Jones, described driving under the influence of alcohol as out-of-character behavior for Jones.
“This was something that came out of the blue due to carelessness on the part of both the victim and Mr. Jones,” Zorea said.
Jones had remained employed since the accident, working in a Cordova grocery store throughout the novel coronavirus pandemic, Zorea said. Additionally, Jones had been actively engaged with mental health counseling since the accident, Zorea said. Though Jones was not diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, he exhibited some traits of the disorder, testified Ruby Vincent, Jones’s therapist.
Superior Court Judge Rachel Ahrens also heard testimony from Jones’s mother and uncle, and from Jones’s employer, all of whom described Jones as a man of strong character and urged the court to issue a lenient sentence.
Ahrens said that, despite Jones’s lack of criminal history, the maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment for criminally negligent homicide was appropriate because of the seriousness of Jones’s offense. However, Ahrens told Jones that he showed a very high chance for rehabilitation with his sentence.
“To your credit, you had a lot of support here — more support than I see for most defendants, frankly,” Ahrens told Jones.
Ahrens said she would recommend to the Alaska Department of Corrections that Jones be placed somewhere where he could continue participating in treatment programs.
