Woman gets up to 21 years in prison for shooting at SWAT officers

A Las Vegas woman was sentenced to a maximum of 21 years in prison for shooting at SWAT officers during a nearly 24-hour standoff.

Sara Jones, 31, pleaded guilty in May to charges of false imprisonment, child endangerment, resisting a public officer with use of a firearm and attempted murder.

In asking District Judge Douglas Herndon to send Jones to a mental health court instead of prison, defense attorney Nadia Hojjat said Jones is a schizophrenic and “will never have an accurate perception of what happened.”

Hojjat added that Jones was taking medication to control her mental illness, and she may not receive the same treatment in prison.

“Sara needs help,” the lawyer said.

Prosecutor Marc DiGiacomo called Jones’s actions “outrageously dangerous” before police even arrived at the scene.

The shooting occurred after Jones held her 1- and 2-year-old children hostage with a .45-caliber handgun in a home at 4516 Newton Drive, near Tropicana Avenue and Mountain Vista Street. She told police several times during the negotiation that she would shoot her children, according to her arrest report.

Hojjat told the judge that Jones was hearing voices at the time, and she thought that “the Illuminati was there to kill her family.”

Jones shot officer Kevin McCord in the leg and veteran officer Chuck Collingwood was hit by bullet fragments.

After 23 hours of negotiations, which began Aug. 26, 2013 and ended the following night, Jones fired a shot into the ceiling and police entered the home.

Jones had argued with her husband the previous day and locked herself inside with a gun. Her husband and the couple’s 10-year-old daughter left the home as police arrived, but two young children remained inside.

After officers entered the home, Jones fired through a bedroom door. McCord was struck in the shin, but was protected by his gear.

The officers went to the bedroom and found the 2-year-old child safe on the bed, but Jones had locked herself inside a bathroom. Officers broke into the bathroom and saw Jones pointing the gun at her 1-year-old child, prosecutors said.

The confrontation ended when she was shot in the face by SWAT officer James Bertuccini.

Herndon made a point to say that “law enforcement exercised incredible restraint,” considering the circumstances of the standoff.

Jones would be eligible for parole after roughly seven years and four months in prison, the judge ruled.

Contact reporter David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Find him on Twitter: @randompoker