Wife arrested in slaying for gambling $$$

Wife arrested in slaying of TV shop owner in San Bernardino
Joe Nelson and Rick Sforza, The (San Bernardino County) Sun

SAN BERNARDINO -- A woman who said she discovered her husband dead inside his television and radio repair shop on the day of their 29th wedding anniversary has been arrested in connection with his slaying, police said.

Police arrested Laurie Jean Cone, 47, at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at the office of criminal defense attorney Michael Scafiddi, in the 400 block of North Arrowhead Avenue, in San Bernardino, sheriff's booking records show.

It was unclear Thursday if Scafiddi or any of the attorneys working in his office were representing Laurie Cone, who is facing charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder. She was booked Wednesday at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga, where she was being held without bail.

Cone is suspected of conspiring to have her husband, 64-year-old John "Jack" Cone, killed for financial gain. Homicide investigators plan to have their case submitted to the District Attorney's Office for review this afternoon, San Bernardino Police Lt. Paul Williams said.

Detectives continued their search Thursday for John Cone's white 2003 Ford F-150 quad cab pickup, which was stolen during the commission of the crime late Sunday or early Monday morning. Roughly 20 guns were also stolen, police said.

Police said Jack Cone suffered trauma to his body consistent with a homicide.

"The investigators are working diligently. It's a very complex case," Williams said, adding that detectives were following a trail of solid leads Thursday and aiming to close the case quickly.

During an interview with The Sun Monday, Laurie Cone said she found her husband, whom she had been separated for roughly two months, dead in his television and radio repair shop, D/C Radio and Television, in the 2100 block of North Sierra Way. She said she went to the shop about 4:15 a.m. after spending the night with her daughter, 23-year-old Jackie Cone, gambling at San Manuel Indian Bingo & Casino. She said she discovered the electric gate had been forced open.

D/C Radio and Television, fortified by a black wrought iron fence in the front, a roughly 10-foot-high chain link fence in the back and three satellite dishes sprouting from the front yard, also served as the home of Jack Cone and his daughter Jackie.

On Thursday, Jackie poured through her father's personal belongings at D/C Radio and Television, which was up for sale at the time of the slaying. She said police asked her to check her father's computer for any documents or information that may be helpful in their investigation.

She said her parents have been separated for the last two months because of her mother's gambling addiction.

"Mom said she was never coming back here and that she got all her stuff. She took dad's things and sold them for gambling money," Jackie said. "My dad was fed up. He changed all the locks, and my mom got pissed."

Jack Cone's cousin, Dorothy Dosey, said she went to his home/business Monday after being informed of his death. There, she met up with Laurie Cone, who said something that stuck in Dosey's mind, given the circumstances.

"She said she's not going to quit gambling for anybody, that she was never going to stop," Dosey said Thursday. "I don't know why, but she did."

Jackie Cone said her mom may have been stealing from her father following the couple's separation to support her gambling addiction. She said her father owned hundreds of guns,

Brian Lewis, left, a San Bernardino homicide detective investigates the slaining of James Cone, 64, who was found dead Monday. His wife was arrested Wednesday in connection with his death. (LaFonzo Carter/ Staff Photographer)but believes she sold most of them.
"I'm not sure if he sold them or what. He'd been selling things getting ready to close the business and I'm not sure if he sold the guns," Jackie Cone said. "So I'm kind of looking for serial numbers (on her father's computer) too."

She said the story her mother told The Sun on Monday, at least the part about her mother and father's wedding anniversary, wasn't entirely true.

"My mom said that she was looking forward to celebrating her anniversary with dad. That was a lie, all lies," Jackie Cone said. "My parents were married on April 1st, and Monday was the 2nd. I used to joke with him, my dad, about them being married on April Fool's Day."

Now, Jackie Cone is faced with perhaps the biggest struggle of her life: moving on.

"I don't know what I'm going to do now. I'm only 23, and I've basically lost both my parents," she said.

Staff Writers Ryan Carter and Lori Consalvo contributed to this report.



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