Sand Springs father arrested in connection with death of 6-month-old boy

SAND SPRINGS, Okla. - A six-month-old baby is found dead inside a Sand Springs home and his father is behind bars.

Twenty-year-old Jobe Jones is facing child neglect charges, but police have not yet determined the cause of the baby's death.

Jones was staying at a friend's home with his six-month-old baby boy and 15-month-old daughter when the incident happened, according to investigators.

Friends tell 2News Jones had nowhere else to go.

"He was staying in the park, you know? He came over here and we heard that and we can't have that, you know? You can stay here, you know," said friend Aaron Frye.

According to Frye, they let Jones stay at their unoccupied home next door, they say he was out of work and separated from the children's mother.

"We were just trying to help somebody out and who knew something like this was going to happen?" said Frye.

It was after noon on Wednesday when medical crews were called to the house.

Jones' six-month-old son wasn't breathing, he was pronounced dead.

Police say Jones had attempted to sleep with both of the children on the couch that night.

"He explained that he thought the kids would be safe sleeping with him in the couch situation," said Sand Springs assistant police chief Mike Carter.

Investigators say the home was in disarray, finding beer cans, food wrappers and dirty dishes

Police also found marijuana in the home.

"We didn't feel there were adequate facilities to care for the children there, also the presence of drugs inside the house,"

Jones is now facing two counts of child neglect, drug possession and drug paraphernalia possession.

As for how the baby died, police say their investigation is at a standstill.

"We're gonna see if this was an accidental death, we're gonna see if this was something much worse, at this point that's up to the medical examiner," said Carter.

Jones' friends say they know it was an accident.

"I could tell by the way he acted towards his kids, looking at his kids, he loved them kids, you know?  I know he's really tore up about it right now," Frye said.

Police say anyone who feels like they have nowhere to go or other options should call police or 2-1-1 for help.

"It doesn't mean that you should jeopardize those children by taking them to unsafe environments and we would hope that anybody would learn the hard lessons that sometimes we all learn from tragedies like this," said Carter.

Jones' other child, a 15-month-old girl, is in protective custody.