U.S. judge bars Mother's 2nd suit over Son’s death: Unarmed Howard University Student Killed by PG County Police

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The mother of a man killed by Prince George’s County police in Virginia cannot recover any money in her Maryland survival action against the county, a federal judge has decided.

In a published opinion, U.S. District Judge Alexander Williams Jr. wrote that Mabel S. Jones, as personal representative of her son’s estate, cannot pursue a survival action in Maryland because the son’s father and the son’s fiancée, on behalf of their daughter, have already recovered under Virginia’s wrongful death statute.

“If this incident had taken place in Maryland, then Maryland law would apply, and Plaintiff would be afforded two recoveries,” Williams wrote. “However, as this case is governed by Virginia law, and, as Defendants argue, since there has been a recovery, Plaintiff is barred from any recovery as there can be only one recovery for damages under the law of Virginia for the same injury.”

Mabel Jones has already filed a notice of appeal with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

“It was our hope that this was the end of this lengthy road, but unfortunately, that is not the case,” said Jay Creech, who represents the county. “Dr. [Mabel] Jones has pushed the federal suit along even though the sole beneficiary has recovered.”

Prince Carmen Jones Jr. was fatally shot by police in 2000 after two undercover Prince George’s County officers followed his car from Washington, D.C. to Prince George’s County, back to Washington and into Virginia, mistakenly believing him to be a suspect who had stolen a police officer’s weapon. Jones apparently realized he was being followed and started striking Cpl. Carlton Jones’ SUV with his car in an effort to get away. Carlton Jones shot Prince Carmen Jones 16 times. (The corporal is not related to the decedent or his family.)

Mabel Jones and Prince Carmen Jones Sr. sued the county in state and federal court, as did Candace Jackson, the younger Jones’ fiancée and mother of his daughter, Nina Jones. All three won jury verdicts in Prince George’s County but a judge struck Mabel Jones’ and Jones Sr.’s awards, ruling that the law of Virginia, where the killing occurred, says that a parent may not recover in a wrongful-death suit if the deceased has a child of his own.

Jones Sr. and Jackson, on Nina Jones’ behalf, both settled with the county, with Jones Sr. getting $200,000 and Jackson getting $2.5 million.

Mabel Jones, however, took her case to the Court of Special Appeals, where she lost. She pursued the federal case in parallel. Her attorney did not immediately return a call for comment Tuesday afternoon.