Death Penalty Deadline Extended in Upshur County Murder Trial

GILMER � One of three defendants awaiting trial for the December kidnapping and killing of a Longview man will likely learn next month if prosecutors will seek the death penalty. According to KETK and the Longview News-Journal, Upshur County District Attorney Billy Byrd said Monday�s deadline to announce whether he would seek the death penalty for Daniel Paul Jones has been extended to November 1. Byrd and Jones� defense attorneys Kevin Settle and Jason Cassel agreed to the extension, according to documents field in Upshur County 115th District Court.

Byrd filed for the first continuance on September 12 because DNA testing and other evidence that could be a factor in the decision were not complete, according to documents filed in the Upshur County District Attorney�s Office. Investigators have said Jones, 20, along with Sarah Haslam, 20, of Longview and Andrew Norwine, 21, of Arlington robbed 27-year-old Ronnie Joe Gammage and later kidnapped and beat him before slicing his throat and setting him on fire. Gammage�s body was found December 19 in rural Upshur County after his mother reported him missing December 8.