Man Shot by Mesquite Police in His Own Pickup Released From Hospital

An Arlington man shot by a Mesquite cop last week is finally out of the hospital, but questions remain about the shooting. Lyndo Jones told reporters Tuesday night after his release from Baylor Medical Center in Dallas that he was happy to be going home to see his kids and still didn't know why Mesquite police officer Derick Wiley shot him three times as he struggled with his pickup truck's alarm in a parking lot.

“I don’t know why somebody would do that,” Jones said. “Why? I didn’t do nothing to you or did anything. Why? that’s what I want to know.”

Jones, whose attorney, Lee Merritt, joined him at the impromptu press conference, refused to answer questions about his memories of being shot Nov. 8, but Mesquite police shed some light on the incident during their press conference Tuesday afternoon.

According to Mesquite police Lt. Brian Parrish, Wiley responded to a call about a car alarm going off in a parking lot on Town East Boulevard at about 7 p.m. Jones' car was the only one in the area about which the call was made, Parrish said.

"Mr. Jones didn't give the officer ample opportunity to start an investigation," Parrish said, and Jones and Wiley got into a struggle.

Wiley shot Jones twice, but Jones continued to struggle, Parrish said. Eventually, he said, two more officers showed up on the scene and helped Wiley subdue Jones. Wiley still hasn't given a statement about the incident, and the investigation into the shooting is ongoing, Parrish said.

A press release from Merritt paints a different picture. Merritt said Jones was in his truck, unable to turn off his alarm after a minor traffic accident, and Wiley told him to get out of his truck. When Jones did and tried to explain what was going on, Wiley shot him in the stomach, Merritt said.

Several officers then "attacked Mr. Jones and tried to perform an anal cavity search," Merritt said. When Jones reacted to the "unlawful sodomy" by trying to get away, police shot Jones again, this time in the back, he said in his release.

Six days, ICU, no charges .... chained to the bed while fighting for your life after being shot for no reason at all. #LyndoJones pic.twitter.com/eyaWsR9DEw

— S. Lee Merritt, Esq. (@MeritLaw) November 15, 2017

Police charged Jones with evading arrest on foot before paramedics took him to Baylor. At the hospital, Jones was handcuffed to his bed until Tuesday night, when the Dallas County District Attorney's Office rejected the charges against him, Merritt said.