Angry Phone Call to Teacher Told : Police Cite Talk Between Victim, Man Held in 2 Slayings

Slain Pasadena teacher Robert Jones received an angry phone call shortly before he died from the man who has been arrested in his murder, police said in court documents.

The documents were filed to support a search warrant that was executed at the apartment of Robert Gregg Butler, a 22-year-old college senior who pleaded innocent Thursday in Pasadena Municipal Court to two counts of murder in the shooting deaths of Jones, 47, and Ronald McClendon, 17, a junior varsity basketball player who was staying with Jones because of family problems.

Both were found shot to death in separate rooms of Jones’ Pasadena home Dec. 12.

The phone call is described in an affidavit filed in court Thursday. In it, police quote a friend of Jones as saying the call came from Butler, who wanted to know if McClendon was still at the home of the popular social sciences teacher.

When Jones said yes, Butler became angry and said he was coming “home” that night, the affidavit said. Butler, who had once lived with the teacher, still had his own room in the teacher’s house, according to the affidavit.

Told of Exchange

The friend said Jones told him of the exchange shortly after receiving the call on the night of Dec. 11, according to the affidavit. Police have said the murders took place in the late hours of Dec. 11 or the early morning of Dec. 12.

Butler has denied being at the teacher’s home Dec. 11, the affidavit said.

The teacher and Butler are described in the court documents as having an “adopted father/son” relationship. This is a characterization supported by friends of the victims, who said Jones had been a father figure to Butler and McClendon and often referred to both young men as “his sons.”

The affidavit also discloses that a photograph of the teacher, inscribed affectionately to Robert Butler, was found torn to pieces in a trash can at the teacher’s house.

Also mentioned in the court documents is a plaid scarf that police believe was wrapped around the murder weapon to muffle its sound. The scarf was found on the kitchen floor near the unlocked back door of Jones’ home and contained traces of lead residue.

No Gun Found

John Cheroske, Butler’s attorney, said Thursday that police have not found the gun. A handgun belonging to Jones is missing from the teacher’s home, he said. In the search warrant, police were seeking a .38-caliber handgun. It was not found at Butler’s apartment, the affidavit said.

Pasadena police arrested Butler, who is a nationally ranked track star, earlier this week at his apartment near the campus of Azusa Pacific University, where he was studying to become a law officer.

He faces a preliminary hearing Jan. 22. Butler, who could receive the death penalty if convicted, is being held without bail at county jail.