[BHS etree] SAD NEWS: 2006 BHS Graduate Killed in Alabama

[bhs at idiom.com]

Contact: Mark Coplan [mailto:Mark_Coplan at berkeley.k12.ca.us]

Canon Jones, Berkeley High School Class of 2006 was robbed and
murdered last night outside of his university dorm in Alabama. It is
obvious that this young man was very involved in our community, as I
have already heard about this tragic loss from CAS at Berkeley High,
BUSD Transportation staff and the Berkeley Boosters.  They have all
asked me to share information about Canon with the greater community,
so I have included something from each of their communications.

Mark Coplan, BUSD PIO
===================================================

From:	Berkeley High: Communication Arts & Sciences (CAS)

Dear Friends:
I am writing to inform you that a star CAS graduate from last year,
Canon Jones, was murdered last night. He was in Alabama where he was a
freshman at Tuskegee University. We are, once again, struggling to
deal with a senseless tragedy and an almost overwhelming feeling of
loss.

Canon was a wise, kind, mature young man, a loyal and supportive
friend and a beloved, exceptional student. We'll share information
concerning memorials as it comes to us. In the meantime, we have
arranged for counselors to be available in C-418 and in the Health
Center throughout the week for students and teachers.

As  always, we are appreciative of the ways in which our community
supports one another.

Sincerely,
Phil Halpern
Amy Crawford
=====================================================================
From: BUSD Transportation

Canon Jones joined our transportation family when his aunt,
Annette-Johnson Banks, came to BUSD in 1991. Annette started as a
school bus driver and is currently the Router/Scheduler in
Transportation. Canon has been a presence at Transportation, we have
watched him grow into an accomplished young man. Last summer he worked
for Transportation, preparing himself for the big transition to
college at Tuskegee. 

All of us at Transportation are deeply saddened by his passing. 

Donations to his family can be sent to Melba Lazenby at BUSD
Transportation (510-644-6182). Checks can be made out to Annette
Johnson-Banks.

=====================================================================
From:  	David Manson, Jr., Berkeley Boosters
To:		The community of concerned citizens
Regarding:	Senseless violence claims one of our own. . .

I wanted to share a little bit with you about Canon Jones, the young
man that was taken from us on Sunday night. Canon Jones grew up in the
Berkeley Boosters PAL program.  He began with us as a sixth grade
student at MLK Middle School. He was planning on working with the
younger kids this summer as a youth counselor in our summer adventure
camp programs when he returned from college.
 
First, like all of the gun violence in our society, this was a totally
senseless killing.Canon had no more than $40 on him - his father had
just wired him $40 spending cash by Western Union on Saturday.  A
female resident of the city of Tuskegee was driving home late Sunday
evening when she saw two men shove another young man up against a
fence and start patting him down.  As she drove further down the
street, she heard a gun shot and looked in her rear view mirror and
saw the two young men running off in the other direction.  She
immediately called 911 and when the police unit arrived on the scene,
they found Canon lying face down on the sidewalk. They called EMS and
when the ambulance arrived, he was pronounced dead at the scene from a
gunshot wound to the head.  I spoke with the Chief of Police out there
and they are treating it as a robbery.Canon had left his roommate back
at the dorm, and told him he was headed to the store to grab some
food.  When they found Canon, he had no wallet or cash on him.  They
have identified some suspects, and actually have one young man in
custody, but haven't charged him yet.
 
I would like to tell you about Canon, so that you can get to know him
just a little bit.  I worked with Canon since he was in the 7th grade
and have had the privilege and blessing to see this young man grow
from a shy, uncertain kid trying to figure out his place in the world
to a young man that was a leader among his peers and in his community.
Canon participated in our Outdoor Education programs at the Berkeley
PAL, and then went on to become Vice-President of our Youth Director's
Council - a teen leadership development program - and has been to
Berkeley City Council and Sacramento. to lobby for issues of
importance to him - education, juvenile justice and the importance of
after school programs.  Canon became a youth employee and
counselor-in-training through our youth employment program, and upon
graduation from high school worked during last summer as the co-lead
C-I-T in charge of the rest of the youth staff. 

I do not grieve for Canon right now.he is at rest and in peace.I
grieve for his family, I grieve for our community, and I grieve for my
own personal loss..we have had one of our best and brightest taken
from us. 
 
Canon left a lifetime of work and dreams unfulfilled.  On his Myspace
page, under the heading "Who I'd Like To Meet" .he left us these
words:
 
Who I'd like to meet:
God face to face one day and be in his good graces, But hopefully no
time soon Cuz there are to many things to see, to many people to meet,
and to many kids to have before I leave and let the world say Good Bye
to the infamous Canon Jones

==========================================

Mark A. Coplan
Public Information Officer, BUSD
510-644-6320
Mark_Coplan at berkeley.k12.ca.us
Berkeley Unified School District
2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way
Berkeley, Ca 94704-1180