San Bernadino, CA: Wife pleads not guilty in TV shop owner's death, two more arrested as 'complex' case grows

SAN BERNARDINO -- Police have identified two more suspects in the alleged fatal beating of a television repairman inside his business, which doubled as his home, police said Friday - the same day his wife pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges in his death.

Police identified Shawna Bayless, 39, and Gary Gallion, 29, both of San Bernardino, as suspects in the slaying of 64-year-old John Joseph "Jack" Cone, San Bernardino Police Lt. Paul Williams said.

Bayless and Gallion were arrested Wednesday for parole violations at a house in the 5900 block of Arden Avenue in San Bernardino. Bayless was booked into West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga, and Gallion was booked at the Central Detention Center in San Bernardino, according to sheriff's online booking records.

Their alleged role in the slaying remained unclear Friday night, but police said it will become more clear as the intestigation moves forward.

Cone's wife of 29 years, Laurie Jean Cone, 47, told police earlier this week that she found her husband's lifeless body inside his home and business - D/C Radio and Television - Monday morning in the 2100 block of North Sierra Way, after she had a night out with her daughter at a local casino. It was a day after the Cones' 29th wedding anniversary.

But by Friday prosecutors were charging her with his death. She pleaded not guilty to one count of first-degree murder during arraignment Friday morning in San Bernardino Superior Court.

Prosecutors had filed the charges in a criminal complaint against Cone the same day she was arraigned, court personnel said.

But even as she was being booked, police were continuing an investigation that they deemed "complex" and fluid.

Homicide investigators continued working the case into the night Friday, said Lt. Paul Williams, spokesman for the San Bernardino Police Department.

"There's still more leads to follow. There's still the possibility that more people are involved," Williams said. "It becomes complex because of the amount of leads. When you start getting multiple pieces of a puzzle, it becomes a larger puzzle."

By Thursday, police had found John Cone's pickup abandoned in the 2600 block of Orchid Drive, in Highland, according to police.

There is no mention in the criminal complaint of any weapon used in the killing. Police said John Cone suffered trauma to his body consistent with a homicide.

Deputy District Attorney William Lee said it was a sad case, in which one family member is accused of killing another.

"It destroys an entire family in a number of different ways," Lee said.

Jackie Cone, the Cones' 23-year-old daughter, said Thursday that her mother suffered from a gambling addiction, and that her father was divorcing her because of it. Laurie and John Cone had been separated for about two months, Jackie Cone said.

Other family members confirmed that there were issues stemming from the gambling.

Jack Cone's cousin, Dorothy Dosey, said that he had been telling her that they weren't getting along because of Laurie Cone's gambling.

"It was all behind financial gain and her needing more money to gamble," Dosey said.

Police arrested and booked Laurie Cone into custody Wednesday on suspicion of conspiracy and murder charges.But Lee said prosecutors don't have to charge Cone with conspiracy in order to use it as a theory of criminal responsibility. She was being held on $1 million bail at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.

Deputy Public Defender Richard Lafianza represented Cone at the arraignment. He declined to comment after the proceedings.

Judge Kenneth Barr on Friday assigned the Public Defender's Office to represent Cone. She returns to court Wednesday to confirm the appointment of her attorney. A preliminary hearing was also scheduled for April 18.