Shooting victim speaks out in domestic violence case

Kim Smith

Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2002 | 9:28 a.m.

Her eyes welling up with tears, Carol Jones took a deep breath and told District Judge Jeffrey Sobel, "I'm glad to be here."

Not only is she glad she is alive, Jones said, but she wants to show other victims of domestic violence it is possible to face their attackers.

Jones, 42, appeared in District Court Tuesday to speak at the sentencing hearing of 46-year-old Edwin Lionel Hodgkins, who shot her in the face with a .357-caliber Magnum in September 2000.

"I can still feel the reverberation of the bullet hitting my face," Jones said, her voice at times dropping to a whisper. "That night he tried to kill me."

After Jones' testimony, Sobel sentenced Hodgkins, who asked for probation, to 11 to 40 years in prison for attempted murder.

As a result of the shooting, Jones said her sinus cavity, cheekbone and nose had to be rebuilt and her eye stabilized. She has no sensation on that side of her face, has vision problems and chronic internal pain.

Jones said her financial situation is now terrible, her future insurance protection uncertain and she's an emotional wreck.

But, Jones said, she felt obligated to fly to Las Vegas from her new home on the East Coast in hopes her story would prove a deterrent to other abusers and as an inspiration to others like her.

A law school graduate who was in town last summer on an internship, Jones now hopes to prosecute domestic violence cases.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Abby Silver, who prosecuted the case, said Jones has an "incredible spirit."

"She's an excellent role model for other victims for standing up in court and saying she did nothing to deserve it and the defendant was solely to blame for his acts of violence," Silver said.

Too often, Silver said, victims of domestic violence recant their statements to police or don't show up to testify against their abusers.

In fact, Silver said, felony charges were dismissed against Hodgkins in Arizona in 1991 when his then-girlfriend expressed reluctance about testifying against him following a violent attack. In the end, he was convicted of a misdemeanor assault charge.

Lisa Lynn Chapman, public information specialist for Safe Nest, a local domestic violence victim advocacy group, said it is terrifying for victims to face their accusers, and unfortunately many prosecutors are hesitant to move forward on cases without them.

"I applaud the fact the (victim in this case) had the strength and resiliency to testify," Chapman said.