John Monk
The State Newspaper
Columbia, SC, United States
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Past articles by John:
Informant whose ‘flip’ helped lead to ex-Sheriff Metts’ prison term avoids prison
Low-level federal informant Troy Mims got his reward this week - no prison - for his role in illegal gambling and tax cases that eventually led to the conviction of longtime Lexington County Sheriff Jimmy Metts. → Read More
US Attorney General Barr talks crime with top SC cops at USC law school
US Attorney General William Barr slipped quietly into Columbia early Monday to meet with some of South Carolina’s top cops at the University of South Carolina Law School about crime-related issues. → Read More
Columbia tax preparer got taxpayers refunds for phony expenses. Now she faces prison.
Cynthia Stukes, a Columbia, SC, area tax preparer who got people illegal tax refunds from the federal government, has pleaded guilty in federal court to filing false tax returns to the IRS. She faces prison. → Read More
Man fell in puddle of pet urine and was injured at Columbia PetSmart, lawsuit says
He went to a Columbia, SC, PetSmart to buy dog food, but slipped in a puddle of pet urine. His lawsuit claims thousands of dollars in medical expenses from injuries. PetSmart won’t pay. Now they’re in federal court. → Read More
Two SC women get prison for their roles in $13 million federal autism health fraud
A federal judge in Columbia on Tuesday sentenced two SC women to prison for their roles in a $13 million federal health care fraud case involving false billing for autism care. → Read More
Opinion: Lessons from covering SC killers: Pee Wee Gaskins, Dylann Roof and Tim Jones
Reporter John Monk covered the death penalty trials of three of South Carolina’s worst killers. Which one was really the worst? → Read More
God-fearing, computer whiz on death row: The twisted journey of child killer Tim Jones
Timothy Jones Jr. was found guilty of killing his five kids in Lexington County, SC, and was sentenced to death. During trial, testimony about his history of violence, abuse revealed what led to his kids’ deaths. → Read More
God-fearing, computer whiz on death row: The twisted journey of child killer Tim Jones
Timothy Jones Jr. was found guilty of killing his five kids in Lexington County, SC, and was sentenced to death. During trial, testimony about his history of violence, abuse revealed what led to his kids’ deaths. → Read More
Child killer Tim Jones sentenced to death
A Lexington County SC jury sentenced Timothy Jones Jr. to death after he was found guilty of murdering his five children. → Read More
Last attempt to save Tim Jones from death: relatives beg the jury, ‘Let him live’
Testimony in the penalty phase of Tim Jones’ death penalty case came to a tearful end Wednesday. On Thursday, opposing lawyers will present arguments on whether the convicted child killer should live or die. → Read More
Tim Jones’ ex-wife asks jury for mercy for child killer husband: ‘I pray for you’
With the Lexington County SC death penalty trial in its fourth week, convicted child killer Tim Jones’s ex-wife took the stand to tell jurors she doesn’t want her ex-husband executed for killing their five children. → Read More
Tim Jones’ father shows tattoos of his five slain grandchildren to death penalty jury
The Tim Jones’ death penalty trial in Lexington, South Carolina, moved into its fourth week of testimony on Monday. The jury found Jones, 37, guilty last week, and the trial is now in its penalty phase. → Read More
Juror sobs at photos of children’s bodies, halting Tim Jones’ death penalty trial
Thursday was the first day of the sentencing phase of Timothy Jones death penalty trial in Lexington, SC. The same jury that found Jones guilty of killing his five children will now decide whether he gets death. → Read More
Feds say ex-Solicitor Dan Johnson ‘abused power’ and deserves prison; hearing today
Former 5th Circuit Solicitor Dan Johnson “repeatedly and consistently abused his power” and deserves a prison sentence, a federal prosecutor wrote in a sentencing memo. → Read More
Ex-Solicitor Dan Johnson sentenced to prison in public corruption case
Former 5th Circuit Solicitor Dan Johnson was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison for using tax dollars for personal use while he was in office. → Read More
Child killer Tim Jones is guilty of murder, but he’s not mentally ill, jury finds
A Lexington County jury has found Timothy Jones Jr guilty as charged in the death of his five children. The verdict was announced after jurors deliberated for [HOURS/DAYS HERE]. The trial now heads to the penalty phase. → Read More
Defense rests in Tim Jones child-killing trial as psychiatrist says Jones is insane
Defense lawyers in the Tim Jones child-killing rested their case on Friday after XX witnesses. Closing arguments in the Lexington County SC death penalty trial in the guilt or innocence phase begin next week. → Read More
Psychiatrist: Tim Jones claimed a ‘creepy gremlin voice’ told him to kill his children
Court-appointed psychiatrist Richard Frierson told a Lexington County SC jury on Thursday that Timothy Jones knew right from wrong and wasn’t in the grips of schizophrenia when he killed his five children in 2014. → Read More
Tim Jones’ babysitter, 17, became his live-in lover, then fled because of his abuse
Day 11 of the death penalty trial of child killer Timothy Jones in Lexington, SC was marked by dramatic testimony from more than half-dozen witnesses, from his babysitter-turned-lover to his distressed father. → Read More
Witness: Confessed child killer Tim Jones said the preacher’s wife wanted to seduce him
On Day 8 of confessed SC child killer Timothy Jones’ trial, a Christian preacher and Jones’ family therapist detailed his spiritual and other inner lives. → Read More