Authorities: Man shot pistol near Monticello park & ride

A Jones County sheriff’s deputy said a Marion man shot a pistol into the trees behind the park & ride lot along Amber Road. 

     Jeffrey James Hacker, 23, was arrested shortly after midnight on Oct. 13 on a charge of dominion/control of a firearm by a felon. 

     A deputy reported hearing gunshots from the area at midnight on Oct. 13. Upon arrival, the deputy found a vehicle parked in the lot with an open hatch toward the trees, documents state. As the deputy drove up, Hacker shut the hatch and walked around to the driver’s side of the vehicle, documents state. Hacker initially denied possessing a pistol but then admitted to having it and shooting it, documents state. The gun was located in a safe in the back of Hacker’s vehicle along with live ammunition, documents state, and investigators also located seven spent rounds in the area and one in the gun.