FORT WORTH, TX – A high-ranking fire department official found himself at the center of a troubling investigation, as detailed in an arrest warrant affidavit released by authorities. Joel Jones, a 53-year-old deputy fire chief from Everman, has been suspended following serious charges of aggravated sexual assault involving a woman he knew.
According to the Fort Worth Police Department, Jones allegedly collaborated with another individual to orchestrate a heinous crime. The affidavit reveals that Jones, using a dating app known as Smiffys, concocted a plan with Tabitha Griffiths, a 30-year-old suspect, to stage a non-consensual sexual assault role-play with the victim. Investigators noted that Jones falsely implied the woman was interested in participating.
The chilling details of the case include Jones providing Griffiths with the victim’s address, ensuring she would be alone on February 21. On that day, police were called to the woman’s residence following her report of being assaulted by a man she found in her bedroom. Despite her desperate attempts to fend off the attacker, she managed to escape the house after the assault.
A video recorded weeks later by a neighbor’s doorbell camera captured Jones and an unidentified woman warning the neighborhood about a sexual predator. This visit occurred prior to Jones’s arrest and the subsequent unraveling of the alleged plot.
Griffiths was identified through a partial license plate and vehicle description provided by the victim. She later recognized Griffiths in a photo lineup. After being apprehended, Griffiths disclosed the communications between herself and Jones, despite his attempts to erase his digital footprint by deleting his profile and account on the app.
The victim has made it clear to investigators that she was unaware of any plan and had not consented to any such role-play. The police are now conducting forensic searches of the cell phones belonging to both Jones and Griffiths to uncover the extent of their communications related to the incident.
As the investigation continues, the community grapples with the shock of these revelations, and the authorities work diligently to piece together the events that led to this disturbing crime.