Rufus mayor accused of road rage shooting pleads not guilty
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RUFUS, Ore. (KPTV) – The mayor of Rufus was in court Thursday to be arraigned on charges related to an alleged road rage shooting.
Dowen Jones pleaded not guilty to first-degree attempted murder and four counts of first-degree attempted assault. Jones is accused of shooting at a family while they were in their vehicle on Highway 281 on Halloween night.
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The Hood River County Sheriff’s Office says the family was traveling south around 8:45 p.m. when an SUV that was driving erratically in front of them abruptly pulled over to the side of the highway.
The family slowed to get a description of the driver and that’s when a man, later identified as Jones, stepped out of the passenger side and fired multiple rounds at the family, according to the sheriff’s office.
Thankfully, no one was injured. The sheriff’s office said a 5-year-old and 8-year-old were in the vehicle at the time of the shooting.
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Even though Jones pled not guilty to charges Thursday, a plea change and sentencing hearing was scheduled for Dec. 7.