A Wake County woman is in jail facing charges of severe neglect and cruelty toward her disabled son and the family dog. The woman, 69-year-old Donella (sometimes spelled Dunella) Jones, was arrested after a detailed investigation uncovered troubling conditions at her home in Zebulon. According to the Wake County Sheriff's Office, deputies responded on August 23 to reports that Jones had confined her adult son, who has a traumatic brain injury, to a bedroom and denied him medication and basic needs.
Per documents shared by ABC11, the charges against Jones include felony neglect of a disabled adult, false imprisonment, cruelty to animals, abandonment of an animal, and resisting a public officer. Details reveal the suspect to purportedly confine and deny the victim, her 53-year-old son, of medication and basic toiletries. The situation reportedly came to light following a report to authorities from Adult Protective Services.
Jones is accused of mistreating an animal, investigators found a malnourished dog on her property that seemed to have been left without food or water. The dog, a shepherd, has been taken into care by Wake County Animal Control. This discovery adds to the charges against her. CBS17 quotes Investigator Ben Ormiston, who led the case, on their work with Adult Protective Services: "Through further investigation and working with Adult Protective Services, we were able to interview and get more information for everything that was going on in the home, and ultimately develop enough probable cause to draw the warrants out."
The investigation changed when authorities tried to arrest Jones. A warrant states that she resisted arrest by slamming the door in the deputies' faces. "The warrant states, after officers asked Jones to step out of the house, she slammed the door in their faces and resisted officers when they attempted to handcuff her," as noted in a report from WRAL. Subsequently, Jones was detained and is currently being held at the Wake County Detention Center under an $8,000 bond. She is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 10.
