JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. – During his trial on June 24 at the Cascade Court Complex, an Army captain pleaded guilty to intentionally killing his unborn child.
Capt. Brandon Jones-Adams, 34, also pleaded guilty to domestic violence, fraternization, and conduct unbecoming an officer.
The military judge sentenced him to 12 years in prison, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and to be dismissed from the Army. A dismissal is a punitive discharge for military commissioned officers equivalent to a dishonorable discharge for enlisted members of the service.
Based on the terms of his plea agreement, he could have been sentenced anywhere between four and 12 years in prison.
Jones-Adams met the victim, a junior enlisted Soldier, in November 2024 when she was assigned to JBLM. They began a consensual relationship that continued while they were assigned to the same battalion at JBLM and through a nine-month rotation to South Korea.
In May of 2025 while both were completing their rotation to South Korea, the victim became pregnant with Jones-Adams’ child. The two redeployed to JBLM in June and July of 2025.
On the morning of August 21, 2025, the victim was at Jones-Adams’ home in Puyallup, Washington. He poured her a drink and after she consumed it, she noticed a residue in her cup and immediately suspected that Jones-Adams administered a drug in her drink.
Soon afterwards she began experiencing severe cramping and reported to the Emergency Room at JBLM, informing the hospital staff of her suspicions. While there she miscarried in her 13th week of pregnancy, killing her unborn child.
The Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division was notified and an investigation was initiated.
Investigators found that Jones-Adams used a fake name to order Mifepristone from an online website. Mifepristone is a drug that blocks progesterone, the essential hormone required to sustain a pregnancy.
A forensic examination of his cell phone revealed he made several attempts to acquire Mifepristone from other sources.
When confronted during an interview with Army CID agents, Jones-Adams admitted to placing a pill in the victim’s drink.
“Today’s guilty plea is the result of the exceptional investigative work of Army CID and the dedication of everyone involved in seeking justice. Capt. Jones-Adams’ actions were deliberate, calculated, and malicious. By committing these crimes, he inflicted profound harm on his victim and betrayed the trust placed in him as an Army officer.Today’s sentence holds him accountable for his conduct and provides a measure of justice and closure for those harmed,” said Circuit Chief Lt. Col. Tyler Heimann, Sixth Circuit, Army Office of Special Trial Counsel.
“What Mr. Jones-Adams did was a disgusting act that killed an unborn child and violated the victim’s trust and autonomy in the most personal way,” said Special Agent in Charge Michele Starostka of Army CID’s Western Field Office. “When someone crosses that line, we will throw every resource we have into the investigation and make sure they face full accountability.”
Jones-Adams is an Adjutant General’s Corps Officer assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 23rd Brigade Engineer Battalion, 1-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 7th Infantry Division, Multi-Domain Command-Pacific, JBLM.
He will begin his confinement at the Northwestern Joint Regional Correctional Facility at JBLM and will be transferred to the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
This case was investigated by Army CID’s Western Field Office, and prosecuted by Heimann, Capt. Khamisi Thorpe, Sixth Circuit, Army OSTC, and Capt. Louis Brooks, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, 7th Infantry Division, Multi-Domain Command-Pacific.
About the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel: The Army Office of Special Trial Counsel is composed of specially trained military lawyers, legal professionals and support staff responsible for the expert and independent prosecution of murder, sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, kidnapping and other serious criminal offenses. Headquartered at Fort Belvoir, Va., OSTC has eight regional headquarters that oversee 28 field offices located worldwide, including locations in Europe and Korea. For more information visit http://www.army.mil/ostc.
To Report a Crime: If you would like to report a crime, have information about a crime, or have been the subject or survivor of a crime, you can submit anonymous tips to Army CID at http://www.p3tips.com/armycid.
| Date Taken: | 06.26.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 06.26.2026 14:31 |
| Story ID: | 568697 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 184 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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