Jones, who state Department of Corrections spokesman Keith Acree said is being held for safekeeping at Central Prison in Raleigh, was originally sentenced under old laws after being convicted of shooting a Warren County deputy while on the run after being identified in a string of break-ins in Roanoke Rapids. “There were a lot of sentence credits applied to that before 1994,” he said. “Under the old law, it was much more liberal.”

When Jones goes through the court system for the recent crimes, structured sentencing will apply should he be found guilty. “There's no way to calculate,” he said of how much time Jones will get if convicted. “They will look at each individual crime. His prior record will be a factor.”

Jones, according to Acree, remained free of infractions during his incarceration since 2010.

In fact, he was eligible to work outside confinement under supervision and for about three months was assigned during the summer of 2013 to work with the city of Roanoke Rapids through its inmate program.

Jones worked with other inmates in the city's Public Work Department where, without incident, he and other inmates cut grass and worked in the cemetery. He did other work the department required of him, Public Works Director Larry Chalker said.

If he had committed any infractions while working under the city's guidance, Chalker said, “We would have sent him back. We're probably tighter on them than anybody. Most don't want to come here because we put them to work. We don't make them do anything we wouldn't ask of our own employees.”

Chalker said after about three months, Jones did not show up for work one day and another inmate was sent in his place.

Acree said this is most likely because Jones, in July, switched to an automotive job. He was released in September and terms of his post-release supervision expired in December.

Investigation shows there is no correlation between his work release and the crimes he allegedly committed after his release from prison and the lifting of his post-release supervision, Roanoke Rapids police said today.

The crimes he allegedly committed last month, which ended with him getting shot by a business owner, appear to have been committed in December, law enforcement has said.