He pulled from a knapsack, and displayed, what appeared to be some clothing and a videotape before throwing it all over the freeway wall. Jones remained in his truck as police helicopters monitored his movements and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Special Weapons Team began to assemble. “He mentioned he was unhappy about HMOs.”ĭuring the call, he fired several rounds, one of them through the roof of his pickup truck. Jones, who was parked in the carpool lane, pulled out a cellular telephone, called 911, reached a California Highway Patrol dispatcher and indicated that he was emotionally distraught, said LAPD Lt. Authorities then closed the two freeways, creating a mammoth traffic tie-up and an eerily empty swath of lanes. The incident began about 3 p.m., when the man parked his dark gray pickup on the transition loop from the Harbor Freeway to the Century Freeway.įrantic motorists called authorities after the man, whose dog was sitting beside him, pointed his shotgun at passing cars. Ortmayer, general manager of the Renaissance Long Beach Hotel, where Jones had been employed for about three years, said everyone at the hotel has health insurance, but it was not known which of several available plans the maintenance worker had been using. Jones’ sister, Janet Jones, 38, told Associated Press that it was only at the time of the suicide that Jones’ best friend told her Jones was HIV-positive. The friend also said that Jones thought he was getting the runaround from his health insurer. He told his friend that doctors were unsure of its cause at first, but within the last week confirmed that it was cancer.
Although Jones was obviously agitated about HMOs shortly before his death, his Long Beach neighbors and fellow workers were not aware that he had any health problems.īut one friend, who asked not to be identified, said that Jones confided in him that three weeks ago he found a flesh-colored growth on his neck that continued to grow. Long Beach police who entered the home looking for leads on any next of kin and clues as to how he came to this violent end said the house was a “typical bachelor’s home,” adequately furnished but cluttered.
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