After spending 5 days and 19 hours in jail, unable to post her $5,000 bond and ineligible for pre-trial release, Jenita Jones took a plea deal, for which she will serve 18 months on probation in Nashville. As part of the deal, she plead guilty to domestic assault with injury, and the child abuse charge was dismissed.
As initially reported, Jenita Jones, 39, was jailed on December 29th, charged with child abuse and domestic assault, after police say she punched her 15-year-old daughter with her fists, and then hit her in the face with a belt, as punishment for stealing a candy bar and a bag of chips from a store.
Metro Police responded to the Z-Mart on Dickerson Pike last Saturday night, in response to a call of a mother fighting with her child. When the officers arrived, the fight had just finished. Officers were able to view a video of the incident.
The mother, Jenita Jones, told officers that she was disciplining her 15-year-old daughter for stealing a candy bar and a bag of chips from the Z-Mart, where they were still parked at. The victim had large scratches on her face, along with redness throughout her entire face. Both Jones and her daughter told officers the other one started the fight.
Upon video review, officers observed the mother exiting the store, opening the back of the van, and hitting the 15-year-old daughter with her fists multiple times. The mother then retreats to the front seat of the van for a few seconds, before returning to the back door, this time with a belt in her hand. The mother, Jenita Jones, then swings the belt multiple times toward her daughter, striking her in the fact with the belt. The mother then pulls her daughter out of the van, and throws her onto the ground.
