Man who shoplifted, hid out in Warner Robins basement receives sentence
A man who stole from a Warner Robins clothing store and led officers in a pursuit has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, according to a news release Monday from Houston County District Attorney Eric Edwards .
Michael Allen Jones, 36, of Winder, pleaded guilty April 2 to aggravated assault on a peace officer and theft by shoplifting charges . He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, followed by 10 years of probation, the news release said.
Jones stole items from a Ross Dress for Less clothing store in Warner Robins on Sept. 23, 2025, and fled, leading police officers from Centerville and Warner Robins to pursue him, the news release said.
“Jones actively fled and eluded responding officers in their marked patrol vehicles, driving at excessive speeds and driving on the wrong side of the roadway, and even off the roadway, eventually entering residential neighborhoods,” Edwards said in the release. “During the pursuit, Jones turned around in the residential neighborhood and drove headfirst into one of the pursuing officers’ vehicles.”
He also struck mailboxes in the neighborhood, according to the news release.
Jones eventually left his van and fled on foot. Despite help from the Houston County Sheriff’s Office and the Georgia State Patrol, the Warner Robins and Centerville police officers were not able to locate Jones, the news release said.
Witnesses near Harold and Larry Drives contacted law enforcement on Sept. 24, 2025. Their surveillance cameras caught Jones walking around the neighborhood, the news release said.
When officers canvased the area, they noticed a broken window at a residence on Harold Drive , according to the news release. The homeowner allowed officers access to their house.
In their search, officers found Jones in the homeowner’s basement. They were “unaware that the Defendant had been hiding in her residence,” the news release said.
“This case began as a shoplifting, but it quickly escalated into a dangerous crime spree that put law enforcement officers and innocent members of the public at serious risk,” Edwards said in the news release. “The defendant’s decision to ram a marked patrol vehicle during this pursuit created a situation where lives could have been lost — whether it be the officers involved or members of the community in the neighborhoods he drove through recklessly.
“That kind of behavior demands a serious response.”
