Wife made plans to kill husband, San Bernardino police say
Mike Cruz, Staff Writersbsun.com
Created: 04/11/2012
SAN BERNARDINO - The slaying of a local television repairman last week was in the works for years, complete with drawings of the house he lived in and a scheme to take his possessions as well as his life, according to police.
There had been three failed attempts to kill John "Jack" Cone, 64, each having a common denominator: his estranged wife, Laurie Jean Cone, 46, according to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by The Sun.
She was arrested April 4 on suspicion of conspiring to kill him, and two days later pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. Also charged in the death are Shawna Bayless and Gary Gallion, both of San Bernardino, though their connection to the case was not immediately clear.
What was clear to investigators last week was what Laurie Cone originally told police as they began investigating her husband's death.
She and the couple's 23-year-old daughter, Jackie, had returned from a day of gambling at San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino early in the morning of April 2 to find the electric gate to John Cone's North Sierra Way repair shop - which doubled as the family home - forced open and his beaten body inside.
For the moment, that was the story.
And, in fact, investigators confirm in the police report that Laurie Cone and her daughter were captured on security footage at the San Manuel casino.
But the story emerging from investigators goes back years, painting a picture of a 29-year marriage tainted by a gambling addiction and the three failed attempts on John Cone's life.
The 3 alleged attempts
Over the last five years, Laurie Jean Cone had approached at least three men to kill her husband, who also was tipped off about an attempt to take his life just days before he was killed, according to the police affidavit.
According to the affidavit, Laurie Cone gave one man, the ex-boyfriend of her daughter, a 9-mm handgun in 2007 and asked him to "shoot her husband in the head and take his cash," offering him $5,000 to do the job.
She allegedly offered another man a truck if he did the job; and she allegedly promised another man between $7,000 and $9,000 and a split of her husband's gun collection and gold and silver bars in his safe.
The third man also told detectives that Laurie Cone contacted him for a murder for hire after he knew her for only a couple of days, according to the documents. He had been allowing Laurie Cone to stay at his residence for a few days because she had nowhere else to go.
She had even given him details to help him do the crime, such as a hand-drawn map showing the location of the bedrooms and a gun office, where John Cone kept his gun collection, according to the affidavit.
Laurie Cone reportedly told the man that she wanted it done before her daughter was released from Glen Helen Detention Center in Devore.
A different man told detectives that after Laurie Cone offered to give him a truck to kill her husband, he declined the offer and told his mother.
His mother told detectives she called John Cone on the Friday before his death and told him his wife had approached her son to kill him, according to the affidavit.
On April 3, Laurie Cone took a polygraph exam at the police station. The polygraph examiner told detectives the test showed deception. Laurie Cone stormed out of the building and did not continue speaking to detectives, according to the affidavit.
Her attorney told police later that day she would not make any further statements. The next day, she was arrested at 4:30 p.m. and taken to West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.
Gambling addiction
Aside from the background of the alleged attempts to kill John Cone, other details emerged from the police reports about his death.
The investigation showed John Cone was severely beaten with an unknown hard object and suffered severe blunt force trauma to his head.
John Cone was bound at the ankles and arms with duct tape and computer cord. Computer cord also was around his neck. The assault occurred in the bedroom, according to police.
John Cone was also a licensed arms dealer and his gunroom had been forced open. Federal agents believe that 17 long guns, such as rifles and shotguns, were taken.
Surveillance cameras, which had been mounted inside and outside the business - D/C Radio and Television - had been damaged. Police say a recording device may have also been removed.
John Cone's 2003 Ford F-150 truck was missing. Police said they recovered the vehicle in Highland.
Investigators said the Cones had been in a relationship for 29 years but had been separated three weeks because of Laurie Cone's "compulsive and addictive gambling problem." She had been staying with a friend.
Jackie Cone told The Sun that her parents had been separated for 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."
Police say John Cone's wife and daughter were the last persons to see him alive at 11 p.m. April 1 and the first ones to find him dead.
Attempts to reach Deputy Public Defender Richard Lafianza, who represented Laurie Cone at her arraignment, were unsuccessful.
Source: This report is based on a Sesslin Affidavit, or supplemental police report, which includes probable cause information from police supporting the arrest of the suspects. The Sun obtained a copy of the report this week from Laurie Cone's case file in San Bernardino Superior Court .
Two more charged today in death of San Bernardino TV repairman
Mike Cruz, The (San Bernardino County) Sunsbsun.com
Two more suspects were charged and arraigned today in connection with last week's beating death of San Bernardino TV repairman John "Jack" Cone.
Marie Bayless and Gary Michael Gallion appeared before Judge Kenneth Barr in San Bernardino Superior Court and pleaded not guilty to murder, robbery and burglary charges.
Prosecutors filed the charges today in a criminal complaint in San Bernardino Superior Court.
Bayless, 39, and Gallion, 29, both of San Bernardino, return to court Wednesday to confirm the appointment of their lawyers. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for April 18, the same day as one set for Cone's wife, Laurie Jean Cone, who was arraigned on Friday in connection with his death.
At a preliminary hearing, a judge will hear witness testimony and review evidence to determine if sufficient probable cause exists to hold over the defendants for trial on the charges.
Bayless and Gallion were arrested Friday in connection with Cone's homicide. They were both already in custody on unrelated charges, according to San Bernardino police.
Deputy District Attorney William Lee is prosecuting the case. Conflict-panel lawyer JP Serrao represented both Gallion and Bayless at arraignment, and he had no comment after the proceedings.
Both Bayless and Gallion are being held on $1 million bail. Bayless is in custody at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga, while Gallion is in custody at Central Detention Center, in San Bernardino, according to sheriff's jail logs.
Cone's wife of 29 years, Laurie Cone, 47, told police early last week that she discovered her husband's lifeless body on the morning of April 3 inside his home and business - D/C Radio and Television - in the 2100 block of North Sierra Way, after she had a night out with her daughter at a local casino.
Laurie Cone was arrested Wednesday in her husband's death, and county prosecutors charged her with first-degree murder. It was just days after the Cones' 29th wedding anniversary.
Police say an investigation showed that Laurie Cone, conspired to have her husband killed for personal financial gain. Laurie Cone pleaded not guilty to the charges at her arraignment Friday in San Bernardino Superior Court.
Mike Cruz, Staff Writersbsun.com
Created: 04/11/2012
SAN BERNARDINO - The slaying of a local television repairman last week was in the works for years, complete with drawings of the house he lived in and a scheme to take his possessions as well as his life, according to police.
There had been three failed attempts to kill John "Jack" Cone, 64, each having a common denominator: his estranged wife, Laurie Jean Cone, 46, according to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by The Sun.
She was arrested April 4 on suspicion of conspiring to kill him, and two days later pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. Also charged in the death are Shawna Bayless and Gary Gallion, both of San Bernardino, though their connection to the case was not immediately clear.
What was clear to investigators last week was what Laurie Cone originally told police as they began investigating her husband's death.
She and the couple's 23-year-old daughter, Jackie, had returned from a day of gambling at San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino early in the morning of April 2 to find the electric gate to John Cone's North Sierra Way repair shop - which doubled as the family home - forced open and his beaten body inside.
For the moment, that was the story.
And, in fact, investigators confirm in the police report that Laurie Cone and her daughter were captured on security footage at the San Manuel casino.
But the story emerging from investigators goes back years, painting a picture of a 29-year marriage tainted by a gambling addiction and the three failed attempts on John Cone's life.
The 3 alleged attempts
Over the last five years, Laurie Jean Cone had approached at least three men to kill her husband, who also was tipped off about an attempt to take his life just days before he was killed, according to the police affidavit.
According to the affidavit, Laurie Cone gave one man, the ex-boyfriend of her daughter, a 9-mm handgun in 2007 and asked him to "shoot her husband in the head and take his cash," offering him $5,000 to do the job.
She allegedly offered another man a truck if he did the job; and she allegedly promised another man between $7,000 and $9,000 and a split of her husband's gun collection and gold and silver bars in his safe.
The third man also told detectives that Laurie Cone contacted him for a murder for hire after he knew her for only a couple of days, according to the documents. He had been allowing Laurie Cone to stay at his residence for a few days because she had nowhere else to go.
She had even given him details to help him do the crime, such as a hand-drawn map showing the location of the bedrooms and a gun office, where John Cone kept his gun collection, according to the affidavit.
Laurie Cone reportedly told the man that she wanted it done before her daughter was released from Glen Helen Detention Center in Devore.
A different man told detectives that after Laurie Cone offered to give him a truck to kill her husband, he declined the offer and told his mother.
His mother told detectives she called John Cone on the Friday before his death and told him his wife had approached her son to kill him, according to the affidavit.
On April 3, Laurie Cone took a polygraph exam at the police station. The polygraph examiner told detectives the test showed deception. Laurie Cone stormed out of the building and did not continue speaking to detectives, according to the affidavit.
Her attorney told police later that day she would not make any further statements. The next day, she was arrested at 4:30 p.m. and taken to West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.
Gambling addiction
Aside from the background of the alleged attempts to kill John Cone, other details emerged from the police reports about his death.
The investigation showed John Cone was severely beaten with an unknown hard object and suffered severe blunt force trauma to his head.
John Cone was bound at the ankles and arms with duct tape and computer cord. Computer cord also was around his neck. The assault occurred in the bedroom, according to police.
John Cone was also a licensed arms dealer and his gunroom had been forced open. Federal agents believe that 17 long guns, such as rifles and shotguns, were taken.
Surveillance cameras, which had been mounted inside and outside the business - D/C Radio and Television - had been damaged. Police say a recording device may have also been removed.
John Cone's 2003 Ford F-150 truck was missing. Police said they recovered the vehicle in Highland.
Investigators said the Cones had been in a relationship for 29 years but had been separated three weeks because of Laurie Cone's "compulsive and addictive gambling problem." She had been staying with a friend.
Jackie Cone told The Sun that her parents had been separated for 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."
Police say John Cone's wife and daughter were the last persons to see him alive at 11 p.m. April 1 and the first ones to find him dead.
Attempts to reach Deputy Public Defender Richard Lafianza, who represented Laurie Cone at her arraignment, were unsuccessful.
Source: This report is based on a Sesslin Affidavit, or supplemental police report, which includes probable cause information from police supporting the arrest of the suspects. The Sun obtained a copy of the report this week from Laurie Cone's case file in San Bernardino Superior Court .
Two more charged today in death of San Bernardino TV repairman
Mike Cruz, The (San Bernardino County) Sunsbsun.com
Two more suspects were charged and arraigned today in connection with last week's beating death of San Bernardino TV repairman John "Jack" Cone.
Marie Bayless and Gary Michael Gallion appeared before Judge Kenneth Barr in San Bernardino Superior Court and pleaded not guilty to murder, robbery and burglary charges.
Prosecutors filed the charges today in a criminal complaint in San Bernardino Superior Court.
Bayless, 39, and Gallion, 29, both of San Bernardino, return to court Wednesday to confirm the appointment of their lawyers. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for April 18, the same day as one set for Cone's wife, Laurie Jean Cone, who was arraigned on Friday in connection with his death.
At a preliminary hearing, a judge will hear witness testimony and review evidence to determine if sufficient probable cause exists to hold over the defendants for trial on the charges.
Bayless and Gallion were arrested Friday in connection with Cone's homicide. They were both already in custody on unrelated charges, according to San Bernardino police.
Deputy District Attorney William Lee is prosecuting the case. Conflict-panel lawyer JP Serrao represented both Gallion and Bayless at arraignment, and he had no comment after the proceedings.
Both Bayless and Gallion are being held on $1 million bail. Bayless is in custody at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga, while Gallion is in custody at Central Detention Center, in San Bernardino, according to sheriff's jail logs.
Cone's wife of 29 years, Laurie Cone, 47, told police early last week that she discovered her husband's lifeless body on the morning of April 3 inside his home and business - D/C Radio and Television - in the 2100 block of North Sierra Way, after she had a night out with her daughter at a local casino.
Laurie Cone was arrested Wednesday in her husband's death, and county prosecutors charged her with first-degree murder. It was just days after the Cones' 29th wedding anniversary.
Police say an investigation showed that Laurie Cone, conspired to have her husband killed for personal financial gain. Laurie Cone pleaded not guilty to the charges at her arraignment Friday in San Bernardino Superior Court.
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