Lee Jones
February 1, 2005
North Chicago, Illinois
Chicago Tribune (Chicago, Illinois) February 16, 2005 Man held in infection death Cabbie contracts bacteria in cuts after stabbing By Gina Kim, Tribune staff reporter. Freelance reporter Barbara Bell contributed to this report Published February 16, 2005 A North Chicago man was charged with murder Tuesday in the death of a Wisconsin cabdriver who was stabbed during a robbery and died after a flesh-eating infection attacked his right arm. Mark Mars, 37, is accused of beating and stabbing Lee Jones, 50, of Kenosha on Feb. 1, causing injuries that led to Jones' death two days later, authorities said. Authorities hold Mars responsible even though they concede that it may never be known how Jones contracted the infection that killed him, said Lake County Assistant State's Atty. Matt Chancey. "Regardless of where the infection came from, he could not have been infected without the cuts to his arm," Chancey said. "You don't have to prove intent to commit murder, you don't have to prove that was his motive. You have to prove just that the acts caused it and it happened in the course of a felony." Officials at the Lake County Jail learned Tuesday that the Milwaukee County medical examiner's office had ruled the day before that necrotizing fasciitis, an often fatal flesh-eating bacterial infection, had led to Jones' death. The ruling prompted them to keep Mars in a holding room during his court appearance on the first-degree murder charge. Sheriff's deputies also wore latex gloves, but a doctor determined that Mars didn't have any symptoms of the contagious disease, said Patrick Firman, chief of corrections at the jail.. Mars, of the 1000 block of Victoria Avenue in North Chicago, passed an initial medical check when he arrived at the jail Thursday, Firman said. After being charged with murder, Mars was ordered held in lieu of $2 million bail. Jones, the owner-operator of a cab in North Chicago, and another employee of the cab company where he worked picked up Mars around 2 a.m. on Feb. 1 at a Waukegan motel, Chancey said. After driving roughly 2 miles, Jones prepared to drop off Mars near 14th Street and Glenn Drive in North Chicago, and Mars tried to rob him, according to police. Jones told Mars there was money in the trunk of his cab, authorities said. When Mars walked to the trunk, Jones tried to drive away, but Mars jumped back into the car, beat and stabbed Jones with an unidentified weapon and ran off, Chancey said. Jones, who was cut on his arm and head, flagged down a police car and was taken to St. Therese Medical Center in Waukegan, where he was treated and released, Chancey said. A couple of hours later, his right arm became swollen and he went to a hospital in Pleasant Prairie, Wis., near his home, Chancey said. He was transferred to Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee, Chancey said. Jones' arm was amputated two days later and he died of infection the same day, authorities said. It's unusual for deaths caused by infections to lead to murder charges, Chancey said. "In terms of factual scenarios, I wouldn't say it's that weird that someone would commit a robbery and, during the commission of that robbery, something happens to the victim," Chancey said. "Unfortunately, cabdrivers have one of the riskiest jobs around." In 1996 a Maryland man was charged with murder when a neighbor died of a bacterial infection after the two got into a fistfight, according to news accounts. And in 2001 a Canadian woman was charged with manslaughter in the death of her former boyfriend, whose stab wound in his arm became infected with the bacteria that cause strep throat, according to news stories. The manslaughter charge was dropped when the woman pleaded guilty to aggravated assault. Jones, who had been a cabdriver off and on for 20 years, began working for the North Chicago I Ride Transportation four years ago, said owner Kim Peterson. Called "Big Lee" by his friends, Jones was a night owl who generally drove overnight shifts, Peterson said. Even though Jones didn't work for a couple of months before Christmas because of problems with his car and cancer, he still stopped by the company's offices to say hello to friends, Peterson said. "We're all hurting because of the incident," Peterson said. Mars has convictions for theft, attempted burglary, armed robbery and forgery and was released from prison Dec. 17, according to Illinois Department of Corrections records. He was arrested Feb. 9 in Waukegan in an unrelated robbery of a man who was held up Jan. 31, said Waukegan Police Cmdr. Daniel Greathouse. While in jail, Mars was identified in a lineup as the suspect in Jones's death by the cab company employee who was riding in the taxi when the robbery took place, Chancey said. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Accused: Mark Mars
Chicago Tribune (Chicago, Illinois) March 9, 2005 Man denies killing cabbie who died from infection Published March 9, 2005 LAKE COUNTY -- A North Chicago man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to stabbing and killing a cabdriver who died from an infection caused by the wound. Mark Mars, 37, of the 1000 block of Victoria Avenue, is charged with first-degree murder and aggravated robbery in the death of Lee Jones, 50, of Kenosha. Lake County Associate Circuit Judge John Phillips set Mars' trial for May 23. During a Feb. 1 robbery in North Chicago, Mars stabbed Jones in the right arm and the wound developed an infection that led to amputation of his arm in an attempt to save his life, authorities said. He died of a flesh-eating bacterial infection, officials said. Mars is in Lake County Jail in lieu of $2 million bail. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ News Sun (Waukegan, Illinois) June 5, 2007 Trial begins Wednesday in cabbie murder case June 5, 2007 NEWS-SUN STAFF REPORT The murder trial of Mark R. Mars, charged with fatally beating a Kenosha cabbie during a robbery, was continued from its scheduled Monday start to Wednesday. Mars, 39, of North Chicago, is charged with murder in the death of Lee Jones, 50, who died from a flesh-eating bacteria after being beaten in the robbery in North Chicago on Feb. 1, 2005. Mars had also been charged with several other robberies in the shoreline area in weeks prior to the killing. Jones, after the robbery, had driven to St. Therese Medical Center in Waukegan, but left before being treated and drove home. By then his arm was hurting so badly that he drove to St. Catherine's Hospital in Pleasant Prairie, Wis. From there he was transferred to Froedtert Memorial Hospital in Milwaukee. The infection spread and his right arm was amputated. He died two days later. ++++++++++++++++++++ WBBM-AM 780 (Chicago, Illnois) June 6, 2007 Man Accused In Cabbie Beating, Murder Rejects Plea Deal WAUKEGAN, Ill. (STNG) -- Accused murderer Mark R. Mars rejected a plea offer in Lake County Court Wednesday that would have had him plead guilty to a lesser charge of armed robbery in the beating death of a Kenosha cabbie. Mars, 39, of North Chicago, is charged with murder in the death of Lee Jones, 50, who died from flesh-eating bacteria after being beaten in the robbery in North Chicago on Feb. 1, 2005. Mars had also been charged with several other robberies in the shoreline area in weeks prior to the killing. If Mars had accepted the armed robbery plea, he could have been sentenced anywhere from 6 to 25 years in prison, 85% of which must be served. Now that he will go to trial, if convicted of murder, his sentence will range from 20-60 years, of which he must serve 100% of the sentence. +++++++++++++++++++++++++
Lake County News Sun
Waukegan, Illinois
Gruesome details
Flesh-eating bacteria killed stabbed cabby
December 12, 2007
By ART PETERSON apeterson@scn1.com
Motyka Gibson had just gotten off work as a dispatcher for I-Ride Transportation and was getting a ride home from friend Lee Jones, who was just starting his shift as a taxi driver for the North Chicago business.
It was about 2 a.m. Feb. 1, 2005, and Jones, 50, of Kenosha got a call to pick up a fare, "Eric," at the Executive Inn on Green Bay Road in Waukegan.
Waiting outside the hotel was a man who Gibson, 29, told jurors Tuesday in the courtroom of Lake County Judge John Phillips, was Mark R. Mars. She had "seen him around" before but learned his name afterward "from newspapers and police."
Jones drove Mars, 40, of North Chicago, to 14th Avenue and Glenn Drive. In front of an apartment building, as the taxi stopped, Mars "took an object and poked it into the back of (Jones') seat, and told him to give him the money," Gibson said. Jones initially said he didn't have any at the start of the shift, but then said he had some in the trunk, and popped the lid.
Mars got out and warned that "if there wasn't any money in the trunk, there would be trouble," Gibson said. Jones tried to drive away, but Mars pulled himself back into the cab.
Mars "started making stabbing motions" down onto Jones' head and shoulders, said Gibson, who couldn't see the weapon, but did see "blood spurting out of his head and shoulder." When Jones put up his right arm, Mars stabbed that, Gibson added tearfully.
Mars jumped out of the cab and ran off through yards, said Gibson, minutes before police squads and an ambulance arrived. A week later, she picked Mars' photo out of six police lineup cards. Mars had been charged in several robberies in preceding weeks.
Prosecutor Suzanne Willett said the knife wounds set in motion the entry of a flesh-eating bacteria body that would kill Jones within two days.
Defense attorney Michael Conway said Jones "had diabetes and was in very poor health, with an enlarged heart and Hodgkins lymphoma. The only witness had limited opportunity to observe the attacker."
Jones was treated at four hospitals over the next 24 hours, finally at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee, where the flesh-eating bacteria was finally diagnosed, Conway said. "They amputated his arm, but it had gotten inside the chest cavity and he was unable to survive."
Conway told jurors that Mars is not guilty of murder.
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