An unusual arson case from 2020 was resolved in Jones County Superior Court with a guilty plea.
Selena Elaine Dixon entered her plea April 13 and received a sentence of 10 years for the offense of arson in the second degree with the first two years to serve. The remainder of sentence is to be served on probation.
The defendant is to receive credit for time served from Dec. 17, 2020.
Dixon was indicted on the charge of arson in the second degree by a Jones County Grand Jury Oct. 13, 2021. The charge resulted from the unusual behavior of the suspect following a Dec. 3, 2020, non-injury accident.
According to a story about the incident in The Jones County News, Gray Police Chief Adam Lowe said Dixon’s behavior was believed to have been due to an intensifying reaction to an illegal substance she ingested.
GPD Officer Josh Josey was the officer who responded to the accident call. In his report of the incident, Josey said Dixon did not have insurance and the car was towed. The officer said Dixon was issued a citation and he transported her to a local restaurant per her request so she could call someone to pick her up.
Lowe said later the same day he and several officers were eating at another nearby restaurant when the manager came to them, stating that someone was attempting to break into his car parked behind the restaurant.
The chief said officers went outside to find Dixon hiding under an 18-wheeler. The suspect was placed in the back of Josey’s patrol vehicle.
The officer said Dixon was handcuffed behind her back before she was placed in the car. He said her backpack was put in the seat beside her.
Josey said a few minutes later he heard a loud banging noise coming from the back seat of his patrol car. When he looked in the backseat, he could see that Dixon had slipped her handcuffs from the back to the front and was yelling fire.
The officer said the suspect had lit a black bandanna on fire and placed in on the seat to cause the fire.
Josey said he removed Dixon from the car and was able to put the fire out with his fire extinguisher. The suspect was transported to the Jones County Law Enforcement Center.
