Upper Bucks Campground Killings: Philly Man Convicted Of Murder

BUCKS COUNTY, PA — A Bucks County jury convicted a Philadelphia man of first-degree murder on Monday in the killing of two men at the Homestead Campground in 2019.

Miles K. Jones, 42, shot and killed 41-year-old Eric Braxton and 46-year-old Arthur Hill at the campground in West Rockhill Township after they intervened in an altercation between him and his girlfriend, according to the Bucks County District Attorney's Office.

The trial lasted two weeks, before Common Pleas Judge Diane E. Gibbons. Jones' attorneys presented an argument for self-defense, but Gibbons ultimately ruled in favor of the prosecution.

“He was the aggressor with anyone he came into contact with that night,” Deputy District Attorney Edward M. Louka said. “He did not have a reasonable belief that he was in any danger for his life.”

During closing arguments, Louka told the jury that Jones said to campers before opening fire, “You’re all going to pay. Nobody’s safe.”

Jones was invited on the camping trip with a group of 15 other people, mostly friends and relatives of his girlfriend according to a news release. At around 2 a.m. on Oct. 19, an argument erupted between Jones and his girlfriend and she told Jones to leave the tent they were sharing.

An altercation ensued, during which Jones flipped the tent before Hill and Braxton came to the woman’s assistance.

Hill was with his two sons when they all approached and tried to calm Jones. Jones pushed Hill, according to the release, after which one of Hill’s sons defended his father by punching Jones and knocking him to the ground. While Jones was on the ground, he told them they were going to pay for this.

Some of the group walked Jones to his girlfriend’s car to calm him down and separate him from his girlfriend. Jones then retrieved a 9mm handgun and shot Braxton in the chest. The other campers ran into the woods for safety, and Jones shot Hill in the back as he was trying to flee.

The Bucks County Detectives along with the Pennridge Regional Police Department and Central Bucks Special Response Team Crime Scene Unit investigated this case, which was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Edward M. Louka and Deputy District Attorney Megan Hunsicker.

In addition to first-degree murder, Jones was also convicted of 13 counts of recklessly endangering another person and one count each of firearms not to be carried without a license and possession of an instrument of crime. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday.

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