Robert Glen Jones Jr. was born on December 25, 1969. Little is known publicly about his early life, education, or childhood. What is known is that by the mid-1990s, he was involved in violent criminal activity that would place him among the most notorious mass murderers in Arizona history.

Jones's descent into criminality came to a brutal peak in the summer of 1996, when he partnered with Scott Douglas Nordstrom, and in one month, they committed a string of armed robberies and murders across Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona. Jones’s actions showed cold calculation and a willingness to kill without hesitation, especially when witnesses were involved. Despite having served no widely known prison time before 1996, his crime spree revealed a deep disregard for human life and the law.

He later committed one final murder on his own in August 1996, this time during a home robbery in Phoenix, separate from the initial Tucson killings.

Robert Glen Jones Jr.’s deadly crime spree began on May 30, 1996, in Tucson, Arizona, when he and Scott Nordstrom entered a smoke shop intending to rob it. Accompanied by Nordstrom's brother David as a lookout and getaway driver, Jones shot 47-year-old Clarence Odell III execution-style in the head. Inside the store, Jones and Nordstrom then fired on four employees. Thomas Hardman was shot in the head and died at the scene. Steve Vetter was seriously wounded, while Noel Engles survived uninjured. One of the employees, Mark Naiman, managed to escape and alert authorities.

Just two weeks later, on June 13, 1996, Jones and Nordstrom struck again, this time at the Tucson Firefighters Union Hall. Inside were four innocent people: bartender Carol Lynn Noel (50), Maribeth Munn (53), and a couple, Arthur “Taco” Bell (54) and Judy Bell (46). After robbing the bar of around $1,300, Jones and Nordstrom made their hostages lie face-down and shot each one in the head. Noel was also assaulted before her execution. The crime was described as cold-blooded and execution-style, carried out with a precision that stunned investigators.

Police later recovered shell casings from both .380 and 9mm handguns at the scene, linking the crime to the earlier smoke shop shooting. However, there were no immediate arrests.

On August 23, 1996, Jones killed again, this time in Phoenix, accompanied by a different accomplice, Stephen Coats. The victim, Richard Roels, was a retired newspaper executive. Jones shot him in the head during a home invasion robbery, then stole Roels’s credit cards. The pair used the cards to purchase pizza and cowboy boots, which ultimately led to their capture.

Law enforcement tracked the purchases and cornered Jones and Coats at a motel. After a car chase and foot pursuit, the men were arrested. During the investigation, David Nordstrom, Scott’s brother, came forward and confessed to his role in the Tucson crimes. He revealed that Jones and Scott Nordstrom were the shooters in the May and June robberies. In exchange for his cooperation, David’s murder charges were dropped, and he was sentenced to just five years for armed robbery.

Jones was formally charged in July 1997 with the six Tucson murders. On June 26, 1998, he was convicted on all six counts of first-degree murder, plus charges for attempted murder, aggravated assault, and burglary. On December 7, 1998, he was sentenced to death by lethal injection for each of the six murders in Tucson.

In a separate trial, Jones pleaded guilty to the murder of Richard Roels in Phoenix and received a life sentence without parole. His accomplice, Stephen Coats, also received life.

Jones remained on Arizona’s death row for over 15 years. During this time, he pursued multiple appeals. His last appeal was denied in October 2013, just two days before his scheduled execution.

On October 23, 2013, 43-year-old Robert Glen Jones Jr. was executed by lethal injection at the Florence State Prison in Arizona. He declined a special last meal but accepted the regular prison menu: beef patties, mashed potatoes with gravy, carrots, wheat bread, glazed cake, and a powdered drink. His last words were: "Love and respect my friends and family, and hope my friends are never here."