Defendant's words scared him, St. Paul boy testifies

A towheaded 10-year-old boy took the witness stand Wednesday afternoon and described Candyce Jones walking up to him and his dad at a Walgreen's as they were paying for some Christmas wrap.

When asked what Jones had said, Josh Arnold stated, "The way your dad harasses people, your son's going to end up getting killed."

"How did that make you feel?" prosecutor Richard Dusterhoft asked Josh.

"Scared," the boy replied. "It just made me feel weird."

Jones, 32, is on trial in Ramsey County District Court on two counts of making terroristic threats against St. Paul police officer Tom Arnold and his son.

Jones has a lengthy criminal history and has had several previous encounters with Arnold, a police officer for almost 20 years.

The officer previously helped search the homes of Jones and her family as part of a murder investigation, and had helped with courtroom security during the trial of Jones' boyfriend, Tyvarus Lindsey, who was convicted in October of murder in the 2005 death of Leon Brooks in St. Paul.

The charges against Jones stem from an incident the morning of Dec. 23 at a Walgreen's in Roseville. Tom Arnold testified Wednesday that he was off-duty when he and his son stopped by the store before heading to a hockey game in Stillwater.

Surveillance video showed Jones and at least two other women entering the store at 9:11 a.m. Arnold and his son came in at 9:41 a.m.

Jones approached Arnold when he went to the register to pay, Arnold said.

"Is that your son, Tom?" he recalled her asking. "With the people you're harassing, he's going to end up dead and I'll see to it."

When Arnold and his son left the store, Jones followed and took pictures of them driving away.

The surveillance video shows the Arnolds leaving the store at 9:46 a.m. with Jones trailing after them. She returned one minute later with a small camera dangling from a wrist strap.

Arnold said he didn't report that incident right away. He swung by home to pick up his wife and daughter before going to the hockey game. About 2:30 that afternoon, he called Roseville police.

Defense attorney Nicole Kubista said in her opening statement Wednesday morning that someone in Jones' group called Arnold a drunk and an alcoholic. Jones told him to "stop harassing me," but she never threatened Arnold or his son, the defense attorney said.

Christina Vold, an assistant manager, and Kerry Moser, manager at the Walgreen's, both testified Wednesday that they didn't hear any threats, per se, but Vold said she heard Jones tell Arnold, "I will see your son later."

"Did that sound like a threat to you?" Dusterhoft asked.

"Yes," Vold said.

The state rested its case by 2:30 p.m. and after a short recess, the defense rested, too, without calling any witnesses.

The jury did not hear any testimony about sustained or unsustained complaints in Arnold's personnel file. District Judge Edward S. Wilson last week denied a defense motion to review or release non-public internal affairs files.

Jurors will begin their deliberations after closing arguments today.

Pat Pheifer • 651-298-1551