Enquirer investigation: Cincinnati homicide cases unravel after deals with informants
Police and prosecutors repeatedly used informants who traded their testimony for deals that cut years off their own sentences. Several homicide cases involving those informants later fell apart
Locked up on a murder charge, Quincy Jones wanted to make a deal.
Jones, known as “Q-Ball” on the street, was a heavyset 31-year-old with a gold tooth and a penchant for big talk. He’d been connected for years to a violent Cincinnati gang and his criminal record included robbery, assault and drug charges.
This time, in late 2008, Jones was in the kind of trouble that could send him to prison for the rest of his life. He decided to use the only bargaining chip he had left.
He started talking.
Jones told police and prosecutors in Cincinnati that he knew details about at least a dozen homicides and could help put the suspects behind bars. He would do this, Jones said at the time, because he expected something in return: A plea deal that cut years off his own prison sentence.