A background check revealed on Tuesday, December 13, introduced the Oakland County court to Bretton Jones, a Sanilac County man that James and Jennifer Crumbley say will house them during their bond, should they be released on their sixth attempt at lowering it.
However, the background check was presented by the prosecution as an argument as to why the Crumbleys, charged with involuntary manslaughter for their son Ethan’s actions at Oxford High School a year ago, should not be released on bond due to some troubling issues in Bretton Jones’ background check.
For instance, he was accused by Port Huron Police in May 2022 of pretending to be transgender to gain access to a women’s locker room so he could make threatening statements at women. He also was subject to an active bench warrant in Sanilac County for six months in 2020 for skipping a creditor’s exam, and admitted in 2017 to growing more than 70 marijuana plants after being denied permission to grow it in his home.
Prosecutors also noted that Jones has a concealed pistol license, which could have prevented the Crumbleys from housing with him anyways, as part of bond conditions would be no access to weapons by either of the couple. When asked by prosecutors, Sanilac County law enforcement officials reportedly expressed not wanting the Crumbleys in the county at all.
It’s unclear how much Jones had been vetted before being brought up as a potential option for the Crumbleys’ housing. Currently, the Crumbleys are being held on a $500,000 bond, with their January trial suspended while the state appeals court determines if there is enough evidence for the couple to go to trial.
The Crumbleys’ son, Ethan, pleaded guilty to in October of this year to 24 charges related to last year’s shooting, including four first degree-murder charges.
