Accused Tri-Cities serial rapist picked ‘perfect victim,’ prosecutors say as trial starts

An accused Tri-Cities serial rapist chose the perfect victims — sex workers — prosecutors said.

The 10 women allegedly targeted by Brandon Jones didn’t share much else in common. Some were parents. Some were addicted to drugs. They ranged in age between 30 and 47.

But all of the women engaged in sex work, making it likely they wouldn’t call the police, Deputy Prosecutor Anita Petra said Monday.

“I mean, does it get a better victim than that?” she said. “The perfect victim won’t call the police. Why? Because what they’re doing is illegal. Why would anyone call the police if you have a chance to go to jail?”

Prosecutors presented opening statements in Jones’ trial on Monday after nearly a week of picking jurors. The panel of 16 people includes 10 women and six men.

Jones, 28, is charged with 11 counts of first-degree rape, one count of attempted first-degree rape, seven counts of first-degree robbery and three counts of attempted first-degree robbery.

The former Tri-Cities activist has pleaded innocent to the charges. He has been in the Benton County jail for nearly two years waiting for trial. He admitted to police that he sought the services of sex workers, but denied raping them.

Defense attorney Tim Dickerson is waiting to present his opening statements until after prosecutors finish with their witnesses.

Dickerson objected to the amount of details included in the PowerPoint slides Petra used during her opening statements, but he didn’t single out any particular piece of the presentation as a problem.

Judge Diana Ruff didn’t agree with the defense, saying the jury is supposed to look to the evidence, which doesn’t include opening or closing statements from the attorneys. It’s just to help jurors contextualize the information they will later receive.

Striking similarities

Jones is accused of a series of attacks that happened between 2020 and 2022. He allegedly used a European-based escort website to reach out to find the women.

As Petra described the 12 attacks alleged in the case, she said the victims came in three groups. The women who initially reported being attacked leading to Jones’ arrest, the cold cases that police tied to him and the victims who came forward after his arrest. Two of the victims were attacked twice.

The women shared similar stories about what happened to them. The attacker reached out to them using the website, and would set up a meeting.

He often used the same places, such as the Motel 6 in Richland or a Clearwater Avenue parking lot. After meeting the women, he would pull out a gun and demand money from them. Then he would rape them at gunpoint.

Jones was initially identified after police tied his cellphone number to an open Richland investigation, according to court documents. Then he was linked to an attack in Kennewick, said officials.

In some of the cases his vehicle, either a Jeep Cherokee or a white Buick, was caught on security cameras or was photographed by the women. In one case, a woman memorized the license plate number after the attack and reported it to police.

Jones also left a digital footprint that was tracked by police, Petra said. This includes the cellphone numbers he used to send text messages. Investigators also got his cellphone and allegedly linked location data on the phone to places tied to the attacks.

Police also allegedly found clothes that matched the ones worn by the attacker.

This story was originally published March 12, 2024 at 12:23 PM.