This episode of Mugshot March has roots way back in the Civil War, though the crime occurred in 1901.

George R. Jones enlisted in the 1^st California Infantry at the end of 1861. By early 1862, he had already deserted. He may have also stolen government property (a horse, weapon, etc).

He was captured and held at Fort Yuma which was directly across the Colorado River from Yuma, Arizona. At the time, Fort Yuma was a disciplinary holding site for the Army. He was court-martialed there and got a dishonorable discharge.

Nearly forty years later, George Jones was down on his luck. He seems to have been representing himself as a physician, but as far as I can tell that wasn’t true. So he didn’t have a lot of money coming in. An Army pension would help a lot. Military veterans did get a pension—but not men who deserted and/or were dishonorably discharged.

During the brief time he served, Jones was in the same company as William McKinley Owen. Owen’s career was the opposite of Jones. He served his whole term honorably and bravely, and he was promoted into an officer rank.

According to the Los Angeles Evening Post-Record Jones had remained friendly with Owen. Jones knew that Owen had vowed not to take a pension and that he had since died.

So Jones decided to steal Owen’s identity and take his pension. This worked temporarily, but it was a common scheme at the time. Jones’ fraud was detected quickly and the authorities went after him. Jones went on the run, drifting from one county to another, escaping capture four or five times. The law caught up with him in El Monte in September 1901, and he was arrested by a U.S. Marshall.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Jones was charged with defrauding the U.S. government and perjury. The Evening Express said that he couldn’t make his $500 bail (about $20,000 in 2026) and that there was a lot of sympathy for him because of his age.

Jones pleaded guilty and got a sentence of one year at San Quentin.

The description of him as a physician is pretty funny. Can you imagine that guy walking in to examine you? No, thank you!

However, of all the crimes we cover in Mugshot March, this is one of the more sympathetic ones.  I’ve got another mugshot for you tomorrow that isn’t nearly so sympathetic!