LITTLE ROCK — Aaron Jones was not in financial trouble when a fire gutted his Chenal Valley mansion despite having a bank account that was overdrawn by about $17,000 months earlier, his wife testified Monday.
Abby Jones' testimony in U.S. District Court opened the defense case after the prosecution closed Friday.
Aaron Jones, a prominent Saline County real estate developer and attorney, is accused of intentionally setting the fire at 43 Chenal Circle to collect the insurance money. He has maintained that armed intruders who broke in and bound him with duct tape were responsible for the blaze, which was set May 30, 2008.
Prosecutors last week painted Jones as a successful developer who had become accustomed to an affluent lifestyle before hitting hard financial times and having trouble finding a buyer for his $1.6 million home.
But Abby Jones testified that she and her husband of 13 years had numerous assets at the time of the fire including three paid-off cars, a duplex and a shop building in Benton, bonds worth $230,000 and antiques valued at more than $300,000. Defense attorney Tim Dudley said in opening arguments it's unlikely Aaron Jones would have committed the crime if he was not facing financial problems.
Abby Jones acknowledged the April 2008 overdrawn bank account, but characterized it as an oversight stemming from auto-drafted house payments. She said she was working long hours at her job as an accountant in the weeks leading up to tax day when it happened, adding that the couple had money to cover the payments in other accounts.
Abby Jones' testimony focused on more than just finances, however.
Asked by defense attorney Danny Crabtree to describe her husband's personality, Abby Jones said he may seem "gruff" when people first meet him because he is "extremely goal-oriented." He told her he was going to marry her less than a month after they first started dating 17 years ago, Abby Jones said.
"He just sets his mind on something and that's what he does," she said.
Asked about Aaron Jones' emotions, Abby Jones broke down while describing what she said were the only two times she had ever seen him cry: when she was going to break up with him after about 2 years of dating and when the couple's second child died 3 months into the pregnancy.
"Those were the only times I've seen him cry in 17 years," she said through tears.
Abby Jones also testified that it was not unusual for Jones to travel back to Little Rock for work while the rest of the family stayed longer on vacation in Florida. Abby Jones, the couple's two children and their two dogs all remained at the family's beach house while Aaron Jones returned shortly before the fire.
Abby Jones said the family "lost everything" in the blaze, including irreplaceable items like photos and blankets made by Jones' parents.
"It looked like a bomb had gone off in our home," she said, describing the scene when she made it back from Florida to the fire-ravaged structure.
Also testifying Monday were Jones' mother and an electrician who said he stopped to offer Abby Jones help weeks before the fire when her car ran out of diesel, stranding her on the side of the road.
Casey Phillips testified that Abby Jones told him Aaron Jones was already on the way with more diesel. Prosecutors had pointed to diesel traces found in Jones' sport utility vehicle as evidence he may have set the fire, which was fueled by diesel splashed through the residence.
Aaron Jones is facing three counts of mail fraud and one count of using fire to commit mail fraud.