COLUMBUS, Ohio – The man who orchestrated the kidnapping and torture of three people in his Hilltop duplex was sentenced Thursday to 95 years in prison by a Franklin County judge who didn’t hide his disgust with the man’s actions and attitude.
“We put people in jail who do things like this to animals,” Common Pleas Judge David E. Cain told Obryan D. Jones. “You did it to three human beings. And you still don’t care.”
READ MORE: In the Columbus Dispatch
A jury found Jones guilty on Tuesday of eight counts of kidnapping, five of felonious assault, two of aggravated robbery and two of rape. He also was convicted of a gun specification on each count.
Cain sentenced him to 65 years for the offenses and 30 years for using a gun.
Jones, 31, who represented himself during the trial, made motions seeking to delay sentencing and to nullify his conviction, both of which the judge denied.
“I do not consent to sentencing,” Jones said.
“Well, I’m going to proceed without your consent,” Cain replied.
The jury heard testimony from two men and a woman who said they were abducted at gunpoint by Jones and accomplices at Jones’ duplex on N. Harris Avenue when they went there to return his stolen cellphone in July 2013. The exact date is unknown because police didn’t learn about the attacks for four months.
The two men, Jason Harmon and Jerry Tipton, said they were forced to lie on plastic sheeting while Jones turned on a circular saw and held it near their throats. Both said they were whipped and beaten in the basement over several hours. Harmon said Jones tried to pull some of his teeth with a pair of pliers.