James C. Gilbert was denied bond today by Jones County Justice Court Judge Billie Graham. Gilbert had been charged in the hit-and-run accident back in early January that severely injured Mashayla Harper and took the life of her unborn baby.
Harper, who is a teacher at South Jones Elementary, had not long left a baby shower when the accident occurred on Welch Road near Soso. Gilbert left the scene, said JCSO Sgt. J.D. Carter, but later turned himself in. His initial bond for leaving the scene of the accident was set at $100,000.
The Jones County Sheriff’s Office used a search warrant to get samples of Gilbert’s blood, which was sent to the State Crime Lab for testing. When those results came back, additional charges – aggravated DUI and homicide-killing of an unborn child while committing a crime – were levied against Gilbert. It was on those charges that the judge denied his bond today.