Struggle over gun: Police reports detail allegations against men jailed in Jones murder

Two suspects in the murder of Wichitan Jourdyn Jones are now in jail.

Jones, 23, was shot Tuesday night during a robbery attempt and died later at a hospital, according to police.

Wichita Falls police arrested Cortez Lee Banks Jr. of Wichita Falls Thursday night, just a short time after they arrested Traquan Cox Eliand, 17, in connection with the shooting.

Both men were being held Friday in the Wichita County Jail on a $1 million bail each for a capital murder charge, according to online jail records.

Anyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent unless convicted in a court of law.

On Thursday afternoon, the Wichita Falls Police Department SWAT team first executed a search warrant at 406 B Calhoun St. Thursday afternoon.

Eliand ran from officers but was caught, according to a release from the police department.

According to allegations in arrest affidavits filed in the case, officers found Teidric Jones and her brother, Jourdyn, in the grass at the intersection where the shooting occurred. Jourdyn had been shot twice, with one bullet grazing his chest and the other going into his groin.

He was bleeding extensively and was transported to United Regional Health Care System where he later died.Officers also met with Chandler Ballard and his cousin Terrance Hunt. Teidric, Chandler and Terrance all said they and Jourdyn had been at their apartment in the 200 block of East Wichita Street when they decided to go to the Smoke Shop store at Martin Luther King Boulevard and Lincoln Street. After buying some items, they all walked back toward their apartment.

They said two men wearing black hoodies and ski masks approached them and both pulled out handguns. One of the men demanded "everything you got.”

They told police in an attempt to stop the robbery, Jourdyn jumped toward one man and grabbed the handgun. They said he tucked the handgun down into his waist while the assailant still held it.

The suspect fired two shots, and both assailants fled, according to allegations.

During a search of the scene, police found a thin black baclava style mask and two bullet casings. Chandler told police he recognized the voice of the suspects as Eiland, who lived in the 400 block of Calhoun Street, which was about 100 feet away from the robbery scene.

The victims also picked Traquan out of a photo lineup, according to allegations.

Police got an arrest warrant for Eiland and noticed his mother leaving their residence. They trailed her to Jersey Mike's restaurant on Call Field Road where she picked up a man.

Officers stopped the car and identified the man as Banks. The mother gave permission to search the car, and officers found a backpack containing a handgun with rounds that matched casings at the scene of the murder.

Officers later found a second handgun under a mattress at the Calhoun Street apartment.

After police arrested Eliand, they said he admitted that he and Banks had tried to rob the group and claimed that Cortez fired the shot that killed Jourdyn, according to allegations.

More: Homicide vs. murder: Do you know the difference?

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: UPDATE: Two men now jailed in Jourdyn Jones murder