Man charged in deadly hit-and-run appears in court

JACKSON, Tenn. — Barry Jones Jr., the man accused of hitting and killing Kim Harris on Ridgecrest Road back in August, appeared Thursday in Jackson City Court.

In the preliminary hearing, Jackson Police Department investigators testified about the scene on Aug. 14.

“When I arrived on the scene, I believe EMS was there, and the lady was lying in the roadway, appeared to be hit by a vehicle,” Sgt. Nick Donald said.

Court documents say Jones told investigators he thought he hit a deer.

“As I was driving north on Watson Road, I hit a deer. It was after the bridge and second curve. I stopped and saw the deer that I hit run off into the woods,” Donald read.

Court documents say Jones brought his vehicle to a body shop the next day to have damage repaired.

“We received information from dispatch that a vehicle was towed to Service King body shop,” Donald said.

Police say pieces of a vehicle found at the scene match Jones’ truck.

“We compared the pieces of the grill from the front end of the truck and matched it, and it matched up perfectly,” Donald said.

Jones’ attorney, Mark Donahoe, asked if there was any evidence on Jones’ vehicle that a person was hit.

“You said you didn’t see any evidence of deer on that. Would it also be correct to say that you didn’t see any evidence of it striking a person, a human?” Donahoe asked.

“There were some drops of blood on there,” Donald said.

Investigators say that blood is still being tested by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. The results of those tests have not come back.

The case was bound over to the grand jury to determine if Jones will be indicted on charges related to Harris’ death. If indicted, Jones will return to court Feb. 4.