After a number of rescheduled sentence hearings, Mindy Jo Jones had her day in court on Friday, March 29, 2024. And, so did her victim, Marsha Angell, of New Hampton, Iowa.
Starting in 2020, and the months that would follow, Angell was swindled out of $32,417.67 by Jones in a scheme involving multiple dishonored checks. At the time, Jones had opened a retail location named Tin, Rust & Harmony in Harmony, Minn. She was selling Angell’s furniture and decor on consignment with an agreement of 25% to go to Jones, and the remaining 75% was to be paid to Angell.
Jones was selling Angell’s goods but not paying up. And, when Jones did pay, after continuous requests from Angell, the checks were no good.
Jones had been found guilty, and was already spending her days in the Fillmore County Jail. She landed in jail prior to sentencing because she allegedly forged a doctor’s note from a medical facility in Waterloo, Iowa, to get out of appearing for one of her sentence hearings. Judge Jeremy Clinefelter indicated the courts could not trust her at that point, and she was immediately detained without the opportunity for bail or bond.
At 2:24 p.m. on Friday, March 29, the day of sentencing had come for Jones. There was a small crowd of in-person attendees, however the Zoom call spiked to 40 guests at one point during the sentencing hearing.
Standing before the Honorable Judge Clinefelter, County Attorney Brett Corson and Public Defender Graham Henry debated the value of points coming from the Iowa court system for Jones’ previous convictions in the neighboring state to the south.
Corson’s argument was concise and he concluded that Jones should serve 27 months in the state prison.
Prior to his closing argument, he asked the court to allow the victim, Marsha Angell, to read her victim impact statement aloud.
Angell stepped forward, and this is what she said:
As the owner of a small business, it has been absolutely devastating what Mindy Jones, has done to my business and to me personally. I believe she is a habitual violator, a liar, a thief, a master manipulator and a professional con artist. She is a menace to society who preys on people without any signs of remorse.
I speak today not only for myself but also for the other victims she has swindled in the past, the victims who financially cannot afford a lawyer, victims who have been threatened by her, victims who are afraid of her.
I was raised on a farm in NE Iowa by a set of parents who instilled in me and my brothers and sisters the virtues of truth, honesty, and hard work. We learned right from wrong, not to cheat, lie or steal-or there would be consequences to face. I was taught to stand up for what I believe in, Values to this day that I live by in my personal life and my business dealings. It is quite apparent to me, that these are not the values Mindy Jones chooses to live by. She has lived and continues to live a life of deception and swindle.
I have always considered myself a strong woman but what Mindy has done to me has nearly broken me both financially and emotionally. I have worked so hard to get where I am in my business and in less than a year, she has nearly destroyed everything I have worked for. Here it is 2024, and I have been trying to recover what is owed to me for 3 years-3 very long years. In the nearly 40 years of being in business, I have never had a yearly business loss until I met Mindy. I now have had a loss in 2021, 2022 and it looks like 2023 will follow. It will take me years to recover my losses. The inventory that was bought and paid for by me is gone, my repurposed furniture is gone, my vintage items gone and my handcrafts all gone. Will I ever recover from her lies, deception and her empty promises? Only time will tell. Mindy is no dummy-she is a whiz at numbers. I have seen her add columns of numbers in her head in record time with no problems. She knows what she is doing.
I am now 64 years old and my husband is 70, in the midst of all this, my husband is retired. Unfortunately, he was forced to take his social security earlier than we had planned because the 10,000 dollars I loaned to her in a legal binding signed contract is gone, money I had set aside to use for my health insurance upon his retirement. She has never made one payment nor one penny of interest. Now she claims the contract is an illegal document- a contract that her lawyer in Harmony and herself drew up.
She has left a path of destruction in my life, her other victim’s lives as well as the towns of Harmony and Waukon. What is sad is that I am not her only victim but I am the only victim who was brave enough to step forward and do what was right. She needs to be stopped! It is amazing to me how many of her victims there are. Many of those victims have reached out to me saying “stay strong”, and say “ thank you” and to let me know they are praying for me that I will stay safe. I have heard their stories how they have been swindled by her, many of whom are scared of her and tell me I should be also. I have been told to watch my back. Yes, I am afraid of her. I know what she has done in the past, I know what she is capable of, the type of people she hangs with, the motorcycle gang she is a member of, and yes it is scary. I fear for myself, my husband, and my children. I worry my house will be burned down, and my property destroyed. I told my lawyer and Mr. Corson when we started this process that if anything happens to me or my family, the first person to look at is Mindy Jones.
I have been on an emotional roller coaster, I battle with sleepless nights, I am now prone to anxiety and depression, my weight is up and I have shed countless tears. I have struggled with the motivation to move forward in my business. I am more watchful of my surroundings, the slow moving cars past my house and the happenings in my neighborhood. We now lock our doors, we have installed motion lights and if we are gone for an extended period, we let the police know. She knows where I live, she has been to my house, she has been in my house and it scares me.
I am the victim here, not her, which she has led people to believe. While she was out buying a house, new furniture, horses, new cars, a 60,000 red pickup named “Meredith”, a four wheeler, and an all expense paid weekend for her employees, I was struggling. She has made a mockery of our judicial system both here in MN as well as in IA. She has lied on the stand, under oath-No she did not drive to my house with my checks every month, No we did not discuss business strategy every month and no I did not agree to hold those checks so she could buy your printer in August. She bought her printer before the Howard county fair; she was using it there in June of 2021. And to make matters worse, she opened a second store in Waukon knowing I still was unable to cash those checks. My lawyer served her papers regarding this matter the day before the arson fire in Waukon.
I now have attorney fees to pay. She gets a public defender in both IA and MN. Is that fair to me? She has managed to slide through the legal system in IA with barely a slap on the hand. I once considered her my friend, now I consider her my enemy. The time has now come that she has to pay for what she has done to me. I am thankful to the MN court system, to Mr. Corson and to the judge in this case for doing their job. Mindy Jones needs to be locked up for life and the key thrown away. Thank you for considering how Mindy Jones has destroyed my business lied to me and stole tens of thousands of dollars from me.
After court on Monday Feb. 12th I felt I needed to add some additional comments. I was in court on that Monday. I had been in contact with Mr. Corson twice the week before to let him know that I had been in the emergency room not once but twice dealing with a kidney stone that had not passed. I was in excruciating pain. I went to hell and back in both of those ER visits. I was on pain meds, flomax and a few other meds. I told both doctors in the ER that no matter what, I had to be in Preston, MN on Monday Feb. 12th at 11 for court. I told them I had been a victim of a crime and that I needed to give a victim impact statement. I came that day in pain and still had not passed that kidney stone .And now I find out that stress may bring on kidney stones. The stress Mindy Jones has put into my life is immeasurable. I am a small businesswoman who now has to spend another day driving to Preston which means another day of lost income. I am tired of her manipulations, I predicted the week before Feb. 12 she would be a no show for court. I cannot continue to deal with her manipulations, it is ruining my business and now it is affecting my health.
And here it is March 29, nearly 7 weeks after the original sentencing date of Feb. 12th. I will now have missed an additional three days of work and have spent three more times traveling to Preston MN for court. It should be quite evident to the court what I have had to deal with in the past three years in regards to Mindy Jones. It is also quite evident the extent she will go thru to get out of court dates and sentencing. This is not the first time Mindy missed a court date due to a medical “situation” May 23, 2022 was the other court date.
And now sadly we have two more victims to add to the victim list-Mr. Shah her past public defender and the Fillmore county courts. My question is when does this all stop? I say it needs to stop now!
Judge Clinefelter asked if Mindy Jo Jones had anything to say. Her Public Defender Graham Henry spoke on her behalf at first.
Henry said that there were four reasons he felt that Jones should be granted a departure.
First, she was dealing with a struggling business during the pandemic. She didn’t want to close her business, so she was contending with a fear of failure.
Second, she would have a hard time paying restitution to the victim while serving time in prison. At best, Henry, explained that while Jones was in prison, she could earn up to $2 per hour if she worked her way up from the 25 cent per hour starting wage. According to Henry, up until Jones was detained in the Fillmore County Jail, she was earning a decent wage at one of her jobs along with making deliveries for DoorDash. Henry said that DoorDash was actually quite lucrative, and he said she would have a harder time paying restitution while earning a lesser wage in prison.
Third, she has become a grandmother, and it is important for her to be there for her daughter and grandchild.
Fourth, she has quit drinking alcohol. In the past, she used drinking as an escape from her mental health issues. According to Henry, it took her a long time to seek a diagnosis for her mental health issues. She had gone previously undiagnosed and unmedicated. Henry shared, “She’s not ashamed of it. She’s proud that she has addressed her mental health.” He continued to share that her bipolar disorder has gotten her into a lot of legal trouble.
Henry concluded that “the Mindy Jones of 2024 would feel the Mindy Jones of 2021 should go to prison.” However, given her manic disorder, depression, and Covid back in 2021, he requested that the judge grant her a departure or a lesser sentence.
Upon Henry’s lengthy argument on behalf of Jones, Mindy requested to respond to Marsha Angell’s victim impact statement. “I never meant for this to happen. I did fight to keep my business open. I would never hurt her. She said I’m part of a motorcycle gang that hurts people. That is so far from the truth. I intend to pay her back.”
After hearing both sides, Judge Clinefelter shared that a decision on sentencing would be made based on an objective analysis of the law.
According to Clinefelter, Minnesota is one of the first states to initiate sentencing guidelines so that it isn’t completely at the judge’s discretion. “The purpose of the guidelines is to make sure everyone is treated fairly.”
Judge Clinefelter sided with Corson, and said that he would not be granting a departure. Jones would be committed to prison.
Then the judge began to list off Jones’ past offenses involving forgery and theft that started in 1997, followed by 2002, 2005, and 2007 -– to name a few.
The judge cited Marsha Angell’s victim impact statement, telling Mindy Jones that she had a history of being a “habitual violator.”
He reinforced his position, “There is simply no way that the court can consider a departure.” A presumptive sentence was the judge’s final decision.
Based on analysis of how Iowa courts and convictions operate, Jones earned six points from her past guilty convictions in Iowa that counted against her for sentencing purposes in the Minnesota court system.
Out of 14 counts, Jones will serve time for four of those felony convictions, concurrently, for counts 1, 9, 10 and 11, referenced as Theft-By Swindle (1) and Theft-Take/Use/Transfer Movable Prop-No Consent (9, 10 & 11). All other charges were dismissed or acknowledged as a lesser offense.
In the end, Jones was commissioned to the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Shakopee, Minn., for a total of 27 months. As the judge explained, “this sentence consists of a minimum term of imprisonment equal to two-thirds executed sentence,” so Jones will serve a minimum of 18 months. She does get credit for 45 days served in the Fillmore County Jail.
Jones faces charges in Allamakee County District Court in Waukon, Iowa, for two separate cases involving arson and animal abuse.
Additionally, she faces another case in Fillmore County District Court with more details to come as an omnibus hearing is scheduled for Monday, April 29, 2024.
Anonymous says
Praise the good Lord she is in prison. She is truly a piece of work. I’ve never met her in person, but know people that know her. They know she is bad news. Once Minnesota is done with her, Iowa will get their chance. Because of the arson, she will most likely spend more time in prison in Iowa. Good riddance.
Anonymous says
Great article Jason and spot on.