Girl’s 2017 homicide case may go to trial soon
The murder trial of Jonathan Jones has been postponed over 10 times, many due to COVID-19 restrictions, over the past two years.
One trial even started in March 2020 with jury selection in Macomb County Circuit Court. But it was abandoned a couple of weeks before COVID-19 hit due to an emergency involving one of the attorneys.
An initial trial date of April 2019 was adjourned after the prior defense attorney withdrew from the case.
The presiding judge, Kathryn Viviano, now believes the June 7, 2021, trial date will hold, even though new jury trials were halted last week due to an uptick in coronavirus cases, about a month after they were restarted following an 11-month ban.
“This court just finished a trial last week,” Viviano told the attorneys at a pretrial hearing Monday. “I’m ready to go to trial, so the minute they open the door, I’m ready.
“I think 6-7 (June 7) is the date. I don’t have any reason to believe we’re not going on that date.”
Assistant Macomb Prosecutor Joshua Van Laan told the judge he will inform his witnesses to be ready to appear for the June proceeding.
“I’m going to plan on 6-7 as a date-certain trial,” Van Laan said.
Viviano scheduled several trial dates in the case last year on the hope and assumption coronavirus restrictions would be lifted earlier. But the ban continued into this year before they were removed in late February.
But a renewed prohibition was announced last week.
Jones, 27, is charged with first-degree felony murder and child abuse for the May 4, 2017 death of his live-in girlfriend’s 4-yearold daughter, Ivy Yurkus.
He allegedly punched her in the torso and caused her death while under his care in their Roseville home. Ivy died a day after Jones brought the unresponsive girl to his live-in girlfriend Amanda Yurkus’ job at a nearby restaurant.
Amanda Yurkus has testified at a court hearing in support of Jones, saying she doesn’t believe he caused Ivy’s fatal injury.
Jones posted a $125,000 bond last September and was released from the Macomb County Jail after Viviano reduced it from $500,000.
Jones appeared at last week’s remote hearing via Zoom that was shown over youtube.com.
Although Viviano will preside over the trial, it will be held in another, larger courtroom at the Mount Clemens courthouse, she said. Viviano’s courtroom is the second smallest.
Jury selection and the trial will include protections under COVID-19 protocols, she said. Jurors will sit in the gallery area where trial observers would normally sit. Amplification of voices of attorneys and witnesses will be provided.
A final pretrial will be conducted May 17.