Jerald Thomas' father says son is guilty of rape

EPHRATA - Jerry Thomas is angry about his son, Jerald W. Thomas Jr., being arrested for the rape of a woman abducted from Big Bend Community College.

Thirty-three-year-old Jerald Thomas was charged with rape in the first degree, kidnapping in the first degree and robbery in the first degree in Grant County Superior Court.

Jerald is accused of threatening a 19-year-old woman in a parking lot on Big Bend Community College campus with a knife, forcing her into her car and trying to steal money with her ATM card. He allegedly drove her to the sand dunes area near Moses Lake and raped her.

"I am devastated over this," Jerry Thomas told the Columbia Basin Herald. "Had the prosecutor prosecuted him with everything they had (in 2010), He would be in jail right now ... I told them he would do it again ... I know he is damn well guilty."

Jerry lives in Baker City, Ore., and is a retired Army drill sergeant and survival instructor.

Jerry is now angry with the prosecutors and judges for giving his son Jerald a short sentence in 2010, and the state prison system for letting him out early. He believes if they had followed through with investigating Jerald's background and outstanding warrants, his son would not have been free to hurt anyone.

"I warned them about this two years ago," Jerry said. "Next time he gets out, he will kill someone."

Grant County Prosecutor Angus Lee said he is taking the case with the assistance of two deputies.

"It's really hard for me to comment on cases that are underway," Lee said. "But (this case) is going to get the best prosecution."

On Monday, Lee filed a motion to compel the defendant to provide DNA samples for evidence.

Prosecutors will be reviewing Jerald's past convictions before asking for a sentence, should they gain a conviction.

Amongst numerous misdemeanor charges, Jerald was convicted for felonies in several states.

Jerald's felony convictions start with a 1997 conviction in Clark County for residential burglary, according to state records. The man was sentenced to 38 days in jail. A bench warrant was issued in 2008 for violation of sentencing conditions.

He had two prior felony convictions for grand theft in Orange County, Florida, in 1997, according to the Orange County Clerk's Office. The man was originally sentenced to 18 months of probation. He was sentenced to 180 days in jail for violating his probation in 1999. He was sentenced again for 13 months in 2001 for another violation.

In 2003, Jerald Thomas was charged with battery-domestic violence in Florida. It was a misdemeanor.

Jerald received a conviction in 2008 in Montgomery County, Texas, for the burglary of a building.

Thomas' most recent conviction was for identity theft in the second degree in Grant County, when he attempted to use a stolen driver's license while being stopped by police.

The sentencing range was 12-14 months and the judge sentenced him to 13 months in prison in July 2010.

Deputy Prosecutor Carol Highland handled the case.

His father said he was incarcerated in the state prison in Walla Walla.

Thomas was released roughly five months early, Rowlanda Cawthon, a Department of Corrections spokesperson, said. He was released from custody on Feb. 1, and is not under supervision by the department.

Cawthon declined to provide an explanation for why he was released early.

Jerald could have been released due to state budget cuts. Lee said some non-violent prison sentences, such as identity theft, have been reduced by up to 50 percent.

Jerry Thomas said he contacted his son's prison counselor and asked them to keep him in prison for the entire sentence.

After leaving prison, Jerald reportedly called Jerry and told him he was going to visit friends in Moses Lake.

"He was living two or three blocks from that school," Jerry said. "He was watching it."

Jerry claims his son was involved with drugs and "that Mexican drug cartel."

After the attack occurred, Jerry and Jerald reportedly communicated and Jerry said his son informed him he wanted to attend a drug treatment program. Jerry said he paid for drug treatment for his son at a California facility.

Jerry's other son, Jeff Thomas, called to tell him about the public search for Jerald as a rape suspect, Jerry said he knew where Jerald was and called the Moses Lake police. Jerry led an officer to a bus stop on Kittleson Road in Moses Lake, where they found Jerald and arrested him.

"He stepped over the line with this," Jerry said of his son Jerald. "I'm the reason they found him."

The father and son had a phone conversation after the arrest. Jerry said he made a collect call to Jerald in the Grant County Jail. Jerald reportedly told his father the victim was lying.

"He told me the girl was mad because he was leaving," Jerry said.

Jerald allegedly told his dad he wasn't stealing money but getting money out of the ATM to hand to the woman. Jerry said he questioned his son about the picture of him reportedly driving her car when he doesn't have a license.

"When I heard that, I knew he was guilty and he did it," Jerry Thomas told the Columbia Basin Herald.

Jerry said he is coming to Grant County to attend the trial in hopes of helping.

"I'm going to be at that trial," said Jerry. "My concern is for that girl and her family and any other victims."

He said he is angry at what the victim went through and the emotional scars she will bear from the attack.

Jerry said he contacted the Grant County Prosecutor's Office and asked for them to deny Jerald bail.

Judge Evan Sperline determined bail to be set at $500,000.

"I told them not to give him bail," said Jerry.

Jerald was granted bail during his 2009 charges and allegedly paid a bails bondsman with a check from a closed account then fled, his father said.

Jerry would like to see Jerald receive the maximum prison sentence possible and for agencies with outstanding warrants to arrest him when he is finished with his next prison term. He said his son is committing more crime with the potential for greater harm to victims.

"If he gets out this time and commits another offense, there will be no witness," Jerry said about Jerald. "He will kill them."