awards can lead to arrests
The mother of three took an extra job to help make ends met.
Mia Jones worked during the day at the FedEx Employees Credit Association. She needed a little extra income to pay off some bills and to shop for the holidays for her family, so she got a job delivering pizzas for Domino's.
Domino's got a phone order the night of November 16 that an early investigation suggests was a set-up. When Jones went to the address near the airport she was ambushed in her Toyota Corolla. The card was riddled by bullets, she crashed, was later found unconscious and died at Regional One Medical Center.
No one at the addressed had called for a pizza delivery.
Jones' family, friends and co-workers were shocked. Many immediately began donating to a memorial fund. Soon there was enough money for CrimeStoppers to offer an extra award - $5,000 in addition to the $1,000 maximum that can be paid by the organization.
In less than a week three suspects were under arrest.
The special award money was raised because "extra cash, simply put, really does help bring in more tips on crimes to our 528-CASH hotline," said E. Winslow (Buddy) Chapman, director of CrimeStoppers of Memphis and Shelby County.
CrimeStoppers has paid out special awards in two other cases this year so far. Readers can see a list of special awards currently offered here.