Man Pleads Guilty In 2013 Murder, Rape Of Suisun City Girl; Avoids Death Penalty
FAIRFIELD (CBS SF) -- A Fairfield man pleaded guilty Friday to the murder of a 13-year-old Suisun City girl during a rape, kidnapping and sexual assault in 2013.
Anthony Lamar Jones, 35, who faced the death penalty for the crimes against Genelle Conway-Allen on or around Jan. 31, will be sentenced in June to life in prison without parole, Solano County District Attorney Krishna Abrams said.
His trial was scheduled for September.
"Although the People strongly feel death is the appropriate punishment for this horrific crime, the plea brings finality and closure to the victim's family, the police department and our community and it provides certainty that the defendant will spend the rest of his life in prison," Abrams said in a news release Friday morning.
The prosecution conferred with Allen's family and Fairfield police before agreeing to Jones' plea agreement, Abrams said.
The girl's unclothed body was found by a homeless man in a parking lot at Allan Witt Park in Fairfield on Feb. 1, 2013, a few miles from where she was last seen the day before near Railroad Avenue in Suisun City.
Conway-Allen was in foster care at the time of her death, and her legal guardian reported her missing. Jones, who worked at a Suisun City barbershop, was identified early on as a suspect.
Fairfield police placed Jones under 24-hour surveillance, and he was arrested Feb. 8 in the 1100 block of East Tabor Avenue in Fairfield.
Some of Conway-Allen's classmates from the Green Valley Middle School in Fairfield attended a memorial service at a cemetery three weeks after her body was found.
She was described as a girl with a bright smile who loved to write songs and poetry. Green Valley Middle School Principal Greg Hubbs said she was energetic and outgoing.
