Missouri Man's Murder Trial of State Trooper Begins This Week

HENDRICKS COUNTY, Ind. — The trial against a man charged with murdering an Indiana State trooper starts this week.

Eddie Jones, 20, of Sikeston, Missouri, is charged with murder, resisting law enforcement and auto theft in the killing of Trooper Aaron Smith during a high-speed chase in the summer of the 2023.

Indiana State Police said the pursuit started in the 2900 block of Kentucky Avenue on the southwest side of Indianapolis. Troopers tried to pull over a stolen vehicle allegedly being driven by Jones.

As troopers chased the vehicle to Ronald Reagan Parkway, Smith was trying to deploy stop sticks near the entrance to the Interstate 70 Westbound on-ramp.

An INDOT video in the area shows the vehicle swerve toward Smith and hit him as he threw down the stop sticks. The vehicle then crashed after it hit the trooper.

Two doctors have determined that Jones has a mild intellectual disability. The judge in the case though has ruled that the doctors’ findings won’t remove the possibility of life without the possibility of parole, which is what prosecutors are seeking if Jones is found guilty.

The trial began Wednesday and is scheduled to last eight days.