Home Place — A 38-year-old man has been charged with murder in the Sept. 29 slaying of a Home Place man.

Police say Jimmie Ernest Jones Jr. killed Andrew Takash Jr., 53, and stole his 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt and about $300.

Jeffrey D. Wehmueller, Hamilton County prosecutor’s office administrative chief deputy, said police arrested Jones on Oct. 2 in Kokomo on an auto theft charge, the day after authorities found Takash’s body. Jones’ girlfriend was a neighbor of Takash’s.

On Wednesday, the county prosecutor formally charged Jones with felony counts of murder, auto theft and theft, Wehmueller said. Jones also has been charged with being a habitual offender.

Jones has previous convictions for attempted robbery in March 2003 in Howard County and for grand theft in July 2000 in Palm Beach County, Fla.

Wehmueller said investigators found Takash’s blood on a sweater Jones owned.

Jones had an initial hearing in Noblesville on Thursday, when his pretrial hearing was scheduled for Jan. 8. He is being held without bail in the Hamilton County Jail.