Suspect in Gulfport outlet mall sex assault now charged in rape at Coast jail, records say
A Gulfport man accused in the sexual assault of a woman at Gulfport Premium Outlets is now facing an additional felony charge for allegedly raping an inmate at the Harrison County jail, records obtained by the Sun Herald show.
The Sun Herald filed a public records request to obtain detailed information about the arrest history on 28-year-old Andrew Malik Jones along with other pending allegations of wrongdoing against him.
Three days after that alleged attack in the bathroom at the outdoor outlet mall, Harrison County sheriff’s deputies arrested Jones on an additional charge of sexual battery, records show, this time involving an inmate inmate at the jail.
Jones, according to a database search and from information obtained from the Mississippi Department of Corrections, had a history of run-ins with police, mostly on misdemeanor offenses for disturbing the peace and resisting arrest in addition to a felony conviction for forgery.
Victim of rape tried to fight off her attacker
Gulfport police first arrested Jones on July 19, the same evening he’s accused of attacking a woman in the restrooms at Premium Outlets outdoor mall.
According to the charging documents in that case, the victim told authorities the suspect was in the women’s restroom and attacked her from behind, pulling her into a bathroom stall there and repeatedly punching her in the back of the head and the right side of her face.
The woman, the records say, told police she offered the suspect money to try to stop the alleged sexual assault, but the suspect continued to punch her in the back of head before he stripped her of her pants and undergarments and sexually assaulted her in the bathroom stall.
The woman told authorities that when she offered Jones money to stop him from attacking her, he told her, “I’m gonna take your money” and sexually assault her.
During the attack, the woman said she bit one of Jones’ fingers in a further attempt to stop the assault, but it did nothing to deter the suspect.
Jones fled the bathroom with the woman’s purse.
Bystanders detained suspect at outlet mall
Gulfport police responded to the scene on Factory Shops Blvd. at 6:43 p.m. in reference to the reported assault and possible rape.
Police said Jones was detained by bystanders, which including the suspect’s husband, before police arrived.
The victim, who was from out of state, was taken to a local hospital by ambulance for medical treatment.
Police arrested Jones in that case on one count each of aggravated assault, sexual battery and robbery.
As a result of the attack, the records say, the woman suffered from various injuries, including fractures in the bones surrounding her eye socket.
Alleged sexual assault the Harrison County jail
Just three days after Jones was jailed in Harrison County, an inmate sharing a cell with Jones reported he had been sexually assaulted by Jones, records say.
The Harrison County Sheriff’s Office arrested Jones on a charge of sexual battery in that case on July 22.
The cellmate told sheriff’s deputies that he woke up around 6 a.m. after Jones started “jabbing him in his side.”
The cellmate said he went ahead and got up and went to go the restroom, then Jones “shoved him over the toilet,” and the inmate fell to the ground, the records say.
That’s when, the records said, the inmate said Jones allegedly sexually assault the cellmate.
The cellmate said he was finally able to kick Jones off of him during the alleged attack.
The jail staff allegedly removed Jones from the cell he was sharing with the cellmate due to an “unrelated incident,” and the cellmate said he was able to report what had happened to him.
The cellmate was taken from the Harrison County jail to a local hospital for medical treatment, the report says.
Jones, as a result of the new charge of sexual battery, is being held on a total bond of $1.5 million.
He is tentatively set for a hearing in the cases at the Harrison County jail Wednesday.
