LITTLE ROCK — Jurors on Thursday are hearing testimony from the police detective who first investigated Aaron Jones the night of a fire that tore through Jones' Chenal Valley mansion.
The prominent Saline County attorney and real estate developer is on trial in U.S. District Court on arson-related charges stemming from the May 30, 2008 blaze. Jones has maintained it was the work of armed intruders who broke in, bound him with duct tape, doused the $1.6 million home in diesel fuel and then lit it.
Little Rock Police Department Detective Everett Hopper testified he responded to the scene of the early-morning fire and met with Jones while crews were still battling the flames.
Hopper said he had Jones go to the downtown detective officer later that morning for a recorded interview, which was played for the jury during the testimony.
During the nearly-20-minute recording, Jones is heard describing the intruders displaying a gun, telling him not to move and then binding him with the tape.
At one point, the dicusssion turns to possible suspects. Jones is heard saying there are several individuals "fairly upset" with him through his business dealings, including two real estate developers, a neighbor to Jones' Midtown Bryant development upset about flooding in his house and a woman who Jones said was "on a crusade against him."
The woman was most recently upset because Jones' firm was representing her ex-husband, Jones says on the tape. He also is heard telling Hopper she had exhibited "bizarre behavior" and that she was the one of the group he was "most afraid of."
Later in the tape, Jones repeatedly responds to questions from Hopper, telling him his story is true and that he did not set the fire himself.
Also on Thursday, jurors heard from several police crime scene specialists who described recovering duct tape, French doors and other evidence from the Jones home.