By Alex Rose | [email protected] | The Delaware County Daily Times
A Chester man was sentenced to 87 to 240 months in a state prison Thursday for fatally striking the "second mayor of Chester" in the head with a stick in 2023.
Blair L. Jones, 40, of the 1100 block of Madison Street, was also ordered to serve five years of consecutive probation under the sentence handed down by Common Pleas Court Judge Richard Cappelli.
Jones entered open guilty pleas in May to charges of aggravated assault, involuntary manslaughter and possessing an instrument of crime in the assault of 60-year-old Robert Thompson on July 16, 2023. Thompson suffered a severe brain injury and eventually succumbed in September 2023.
Thompson is described in his obituary as a committed and faithful member of Life in Christ Ministries and a dedicated worker in numerous positions, including the 20 years he spent with Aramark Food Services at Widener University, and his work with the Chester Care Center, the Salvation Army and Delaware County court system.
The obituary said Thompson's inquisitive nature meant he always had the latest news and earned him the nickname "Town Talk."
"Robert's cheerful disposition, sense of humor, photographic memory, and love of talking to folks along the way, during his famous walks, truly made him Chester's 2nd Mayor and hometown celebrity," the obituary reads. "Whether he stopped in City Hall to check in with the Mayor and staff to make sure the city was running correctly, stopping in the shops 'overtown' to hold court, rapping to the fellas he called his buddies, or wherever his feet led him, Robert's presence was felt with joy as much as his loss is felt with sadness. Not only did everyone feel that Robert was so very special to them and their own, Robert made everyone else feel so very special to him."
At Thursday's hearing, Assistant District Attorney Brian Denk asked the judge to sentence Jones to consecutive sentences on each charge at the top of the standard range.
Denk described Thompson as "the definition of a beautiful soul," an autistic man who was well-known and well-liked by everyone in Chester, and who only ever tried to uplift others with his friendly and helpful disposition.
While Jones also suffered from some mental health challenges, Denk illustrated how the two reacted to the world in extremely different ways, with Thompson becoming a fixture of his community and Jones continually lashing out violently.
"(Jones) has this lengthy criminal history where it's simple assault after simple assault after simple assault, where he was charged with other things that were dismissed," said Denk. "Mr. Jones is a dangerous person and he hits other people. He assaults other people and it appears, based on his criminal history, that he just keeps doing it."
It kept going on that way until Jones finally hit someone hard enough to kill them, Denk said, but it did not have to happen that way.
"Lots of people have issues. Lots of them," he said. "Very few people take them out on others in acts of violence. Very few people take them out on others and kill them."
Cappelli also heard from Thompson's family members, who described the heartbreak they are feeling at his death and the vast gulf left by his passing.
"I want to know why would he kill my son," said Thompson's mother. "Why would he hurt him? ... Because he doesn't bother anyone."
"You have left my family, the community and myself devastated and broken forever," said Thompson's niece. "My uncle had autism, but never let that hinder him in life. He used it more like a super power to help our community. Uncle Robert was always such a loving and caring person. He was absolutely the definition of a gentle giant."
His sister said it felt like a piece of her heart was missing without her baby brother, while Thompson's older brother described him as a conscientious and hard-working person who knew every cop and bus driver in town, who was welcome on the east and west side, and who even had the ear of the mayor and city council.
"He was there to help people, not hurt people," his brother said. "When the guy done what he done, he took a piece of Chester."
Defense counsel Paige Benedetto acknowledged the loss to the community, but asked the judge to keep in mind the relevant facts of her client's case and that involuntary manslaughter applies only to unintended deaths.
Here, she said Jones was homeless and suffering from a slew of mental health issues, including schizoaffective disorder, attention deficit disorder, bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, which he was trying to treat with heroin and PCP.
He was already delusional and hallucinating, and adding street drugs on top of that did not help matters, Benedetto said. While it is unclear exactly what happened that day, she believes Thompson encountered Jones and, because Thompson was not neurotypical, may have acted in a manner that struck Jones as threatening, resulting in him lashing out.
Benedetto said there was little for police to go on in the case until her client stepped forward and confessed.
According to a criminal complaint filed by Chester Detective David DeFrank, police were called to the first block of East Seventh Street for a report of a man bleeding from the head and arrived to find Thompson sitting on the ground bleeding heavily from the left side of his head.
He was taken to Crozer-Chester Medical Center with what police described as significant head trauma. Police called the attack a random act of violence, as Thompson was reportedly headed to church services on West Third Street.
Police made contact with Jones days later, who admitted to getting into an altercation with Thompson and said he took a large stick and hit Thompson once on the top of his head.
Benedetto noted Jones had only ever attempted drug treatment once, but said he desperately needs addiction and mental health services.
She added that he came forward voluntarily, before Thompson died, and cried during his taped interview because he was wracked with guilt. He has since waived two preliminary hearings and accepted the plea offer, as well as responsibility for his actions, for which Benedetto said he has expressed "extreme remorse."
Jones also apologized to the family, saying he has been learning the skills he needs to control his anger since his incarceration and now knows what it is like to be on medication.
"I did not mean to lash out at Robert," he said. "If I could go back to that day I would have just walked away. From Day 1, I have always been sorry."
"Clearly, Robert Thompson was somebody special in this community," said Cappelli. "The fact that he was autistic did not take away from his value. He was, in my opinion, a true asset to his community; a person who took personal responsibility to make his world better and make his community better just by being there, just by talking to people, just by interacting and caring."
The judge added that part of the tragedy of this case appears to be that Jones is one of an unknowable number of people walking around on the streets with untreated mental health issues, who society has failed to help and has no apparent plan to address.
In crafting the sentence, Cappelli said he did take into account the seriousness of the crime as well as the protection of society and Jones's individual needs.
He noted the standard range for aggravated assault is 66 to 84 months and 21 to 28 months for involuntary manslaughter. The judge sentenced along the lines of the minimums on both, running them consecutively, but extended out the maximums significantly. The five years of probation was sentenced on the instrument of crime charge.
Jones is not eligible for early release, but will be discharged to a halfway house if he makes parole, per Benedetto's recommendation.