Man freed in ‘doppelganger’ innocence case now pleads guilty to gun charges
A Kansas City man previously freed from prison in a case of mistaken identity pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court Thursday to illegally possessing a firearm.
Richard Anthony Jones, 43, was charged in a federal indictment in May for being a felon in possession of a firearm. During a brief hearing before U.S. District Judge Sarah Hays on Thursday, Jones admitted to being armed with a Glock 9mm semi-automatic pistol on Feb. 25.
Federal prosecutors said Jones had prior felony convictions for burglary and robbery, which would preclude him from legally possessing firearms or ammunition.
Jones gained notoriety in 2017 when he was released from prison after serving 17 years for a crime he did not commit, in what became known as “the doppelganger case.”
Jones was convicted of snatching a woman’s purse during an attack in the parking lot of a Roeland Park Walmart in 1999. He was sentenced to 19 years in a Kansas prison. His conviction was overturned when another man, who looked very much like him, was identified as the actual robber.
In 2018, Jones was awarded $1 million for his wrongful conviction. The money was compensation under a new Kansas law enacted in 2018 that paid people who are wrongly imprisoned.
According to federal prosecutors, on Feb. 25 Kansas City police officers responded to a domestic disturbance that involved Jones. As officers tried to separate Jones and another person, Jones pulled away and ran.
As Jones ran, officers saw a handgun in his rear waistband.
Officers chased Jones down a flight of stairs but he managed to elude them. Officers later found the pistol and a loaded magazine on the floor nearby. The pistol had been stolen in a burglary of a commercial firearms dealer, according to prosecutors.
On March 5, officers saw Jones getting into a vehicle and tried to pull him over. Instead, Jones sped away officers, traveled along Swope Parkway before he crashed his vehicle into a tree.
Jones got out of the car and ran, ignoring officers’ commands to get on the ground. He was arrested after a short foot chase.
Jones was in possession of .58 grams of cocaine and 17 grams of marijuana. Officers searched Jones’ car and found a stolen Smith and Wesson 9mm semi-automatic handgun, prosecutors said.
Jones faces up to 10 years in federal prison.
This story was originally published November 14, 2019 at 3:32 PM.
