Vista’s Jones Pleads Guilty in Felony Case

Vista High School’s star running back, Marc Jones, has pleaded guilty in Vista Superior Court to felony mayhem for striking a 17-year-old Fallbrook youth on the side of the head with a rock and partially blinding him.

Jones, 18, will serve six months to a year in County Jail in a plea bargain with the Vista district attorney’s office, although Vista Superior Court Judge Anthony Joseph has the option to reject the plea when Jones is sentenced Aug. 2.

The maximum sentence for mayhem is eight years in state prison, but prosecutors said they will ask that Jones be sentenced to a year in County Jail. If Joseph considers the sentencing proposal too lenient, he can order Jones to stand trial and allow him to withdraw his guilty plea, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Paul Myers.

In exchange for the guilty plea on Tuesday, prosecutors agreed to drop felony charges of assault and battery with great bodily injury and assault with a deadly weapon in connection with two separate fights involving Jones.

Jones’ plea is in connection with an Aug. 29 attack on 17-year-old Todd Harvey, who, according to prosecutors, was lured out of his home at 2 a.m. by several girls who said they wanted to talk to him. They then left the scene, and Harvey was surrounded by three to five men, including Jones.

Jones was the only person identified by prosecutors to have actually attacked Harvey, who says he now can see only shades of gray from one of his eyes. The attack was prompted by an alleged altercation between Harvey and a girlfriend of Jones, according to testimony at Jones’ preliminary hearing.

Jones was released on his own recognizance but said he wanted to report to jail on Monday to begin serving his jail time. His defense attorney, David Thompson, said he would ask Joseph next month to allow Jones to serve his jail time in the summer, in order for his client to attend the University of Colorado, where he has a football scholarship.

Myers said he would argue against such a split-time sentence.