A Jones County man was sentenced to 30 years in prison for a crime that has left the victim of his crime with scars she will have for a lifetime.
Roger Cecil Evans was in Jones County Superior Court Sept. 28 to enter a negotiated guilty plea to his charges. He was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Amanda Petty to 20 years each for aggravated assault family violence and aggravated battery family balance.
Those counts will run consecutively for a total of 40 years with the first 30 years served in confinement. The remainder of his sentence may be served on probation, and he was given credit for time he has served from his April 30 arrest.
Evans attempted to secure bond Sept. 10 but was denied after the state assured the judge they were ready to take the case to trial.
An article about the assault that led to Evans’ charges in The Jones County News stated that the report of the April 24 assault was not received by the Jones County Sheriff’s Office until days after the victim was taken for treatment at the burn center in Augusta.
JCSO Investigator John Simmons stated in his report of Evans arrest that he received information regarding the April 24 incident from a caller who advised him Evans had set the victim on fire before taking her to the emergency room. Simmons said he received multiple other calls from people connecting Evans to the crime but did not locate a witness to the event until April 29.
He said that witness told him she was at the Fox Road residence when Evans asked her to take him to get some gas for a generator that was powering the house. The witness complied. While they were at the store, she said Evans withdrew $100 from the victim’s bank account.
The victim received an alert on her phone and immediately called Evans. The witness reported that the victim and Evans started arguing as soon as they arrived back at the residence.
She said Evans had the gas can in his hand and threw gas all over the front of the victim and started threatening her with a lighter.
The witness was outside the house when she heard the victim screaming for help. When she got inside the house, Evans had put the fire out with a blanket. They put the victim in the witness’ truck and took her to the hospital.
The witness said she heard Evans call 911 to report he would be speeding to the hospital but declined an ambulance.
Simmons said the victim reportedly has third degree burns from her neck to her knees.
