Channing Tatum has a doppelganger and it’s a grandfather who was a convicted felon and survived being shot five times.
Mother-of-four Valerie Paolini uncovered the incredible life of her grandfather Ocie Haskell Jones and his 1931 mug shot, which bears a striking resemblance to actor Channing Tatum.
The 38-year-old discovered Haskell Jones lived a life that had all the makings of a Hollywood movie, including robbing a store to help his pregnant wife, doing time in the iconic San Quentin State Prison and shooting a man dead in a Wild West bar brawl.
Valerie learned of her grandfather’s past while being stuck inside due to the coronavirus pandemic and now for the first time she tells his incredible story to DailyMail.com, from growing up dirt poor in Oklahoma to gunning down an attacker in his own bar many years later.
Ocie Haskell Jones’ mugshot from 1931 bears a striking resemblance to actor Channing Tatum
Valerie Paolini learned of her grandfather’s past while being stuck inside due to the coronavirus pandemic and told DailyMail.com of her discovery
Valerie was shown a photo from 1931 by her mother, when handsome Haskell Jones was 24 and serving three years in the famous California prison.
She realized she knew little about her grandfather, who had died days before she was born.
Her birthday has been a constant reminder to her mom Anita Jones-Smith, 60, about her father’s death.
A newspaper clipping from 1931 details the arrest of sentencing of Haskell Jones
‘My birth was traumatic for her because she loved her dad so much, and he loved her,’ Valerie said. ‘My birthday was always a constant reminder of his death.
‘There was always this ghost of a person hanging over it that I’d never met.’
However, Valerie thought there was no better time to find out the truth about her enigmatic grandfather than during quarantine.
And through her research – from speaking to her mom and looking through newspaper archives – she found a story fit for a Hollywood movie.
‘I thought I haven’t left my house in six weeks due to lockdown, I’ve got nothing better to do,’ she explained.
And Valerie uncovered a tale of love, death, shootings and robbery – including details not even her mom knew.
Haskell Jones, known to friends as Hack, was born in Oklahoma in 1907. He grew up ‘dirt poor’ according to Valerie, helping out in the fields in Texas.
He had to teach himself to read and write, and moved to California in the Roaring 20s.
But the period was tough for impoverished farmers like Haskell Jones.
In February 1931, Haskell Jones and two uncles robbed a store of $150, a $300 diamond and insurance papers in Tulare County, California.
‘He had just found out his wife was pregnant and he did not have two pennies to rub together,’ Valerie, of Portland, Oregon, explained.
‘Back then you had to pay the bill up front to get your wife and child out of the hospital, and he did not have that kind of money.
‘I think that is where the robbery came into play,’ she said.
He was imprisoned in San Quentin for three years, and his mugshot is the spitting image of heartthrob actor Tatum.
Valerie says there were no other newspaper records of her grandfather until 1962, when he was shot in his bar.
‘I think the stint in San Quentin changed him,’ she explained.
He bought a ranch, and eventually the Buckhorn bar in Visalia, California.
Valerie discovered her granddad was a convicted felon who robbed a store to help his pregnant wife, did time in prison and survived being shot five times
Haskell Jones had fallen out with someone in the city, and five guys barged into his bar and started beating him.
‘The newspapers described it as a Wild West shootout,’ Valerie said.
Her grandfather grabbed a gun and blasted a water tank twice, before the gun jammed.
‘He ends up getting shot five times,’ Valerie explained. ‘He still manages to go to the other end of the bar, grab another gun and fire off four rounds, one of which kills one of the guys.’
With blood pouring out of him Haskell Jones whispered the code to the safe to his friend and told him to give all of the money to Valerie’s mom.
He was eventually taken to hospital where he survived.
The brave barman was in a coma for several days, and they removed two of the bullets and left three inside him.
To his horror, when he woke up he was charged with murder. But the truth quickly came out and he was let off, with his attackers being jailed.
‘My mom was four at the time of the shooting and she was told he was in a car accident,’ Valerie said. ‘She always said she hated cars because she thought her dad was going to die.
‘It ruined multiple families that night, the gang who came round to attack my grandfather all ended up dead or in prison.’
The trial played out in the press where Valerie uncovered the gory details.
Haskell Jones closed the bar several years later and moved back to Texas. He ended up getting pardoned by the California Governor for the robbery.
Valerie explains despite his limited education he was smart.
Valerie posted the picture in a Facebook group and received a barrage of messages asking if her dead grandfather was single or had any eligible relatives
Valerie’s birthday has been a constant reminder to her mom Anita Jones-Smith, 60, about her father’s death because he died just days before she was born
Haskell Jones was working on an off-shore oil rig before he bought the bar, and lost his right index finger in an accident.
However he taught himself how to write again with his left hand.
While he survived the shooting at the time, three bullets became lodged in him and he eventually died of lead poisoning in 1981.
Valerie’s mom Anita remembers him as a loving father.
Newspapers told the tale of Haskell Jones’ 1931 robbery
‘She loved him, he would go to all her girl scout meetings and he would always give her money if she needed it,’ Valerie explained. ‘But if he needed a favor you were expected to do that favor.
‘People were scared of him, and he wasn’t afraid of anybody.’
Valerie said her four children have enjoyed learning about their great grandfather.
‘It’s an amazing story,’ she added. ‘It’s not the sweetest family story by any means, but he was a cool guy.
‘Somebody could write a movie about his life, and people would want to see it, because it was that interesting. And I think it’s kind of cool to have a grandfather who has such an interesting story.
‘If he hadn’t made those choices I wouldn’t even be here today.
‘By today’s standards what he did was horrible, but those times were different,’ she added. ‘He was a survivor, he didn’t have anything so I have to have respect for him for that.’
Valerie’s grandfather has also turned into a viral sensation for his likeness to Channing Tatum.
Valerie posted the mugshot from San Quentin on social media, and it attracted thousands of comments within minutes.
Most pointed to a likeness with the Magic Mike and Step Up star Tatum.
Valerie’s mom Anita remembers him as a loving father that would go to girl scout meetings, but said people were afraid to cross him
‘It’s an amazing story,’ Valerie said. ‘It’s not the sweetest family story by any means, but he was a cool guy’. He’s pictured in front of the bar he owned and shot a man dead
Valerie posted the picture in a Facebook group and received a barrage of messages asking if her dead grandfather was single or had any eligible relatives.
‘I feel bad for Channing Tatum because he was tagged in it a few times,’ Valerie said.
‘No wonder all the ladies love him, he was good looking. I was not expecting that kind of reaction.’
‘People were scared of him, and he wasn’t afraid of anybody,’ Valerie said of her late grandfather
Moderators had to turn the comments off within minutes due to the volume of replies.
It seemed Haskell Jones’ criminal record did not put off crazed social media users.
On Facebook, Kristina Speelman said: ‘I thought it was. Channing Tatum.’
Kayla Rudden wrote: ‘Hot a** grandpa.’
Kailie Soleil said: ‘You’re definitely related to Channing Tatum.’
And Alysia Oggy added: ‘Go ahead and rob this bank …. with all due respect of course.’
A shocked Valerie said she had thousands of messages like this.
‘I had women messaging me, wanting to know if he had any grandchildren or great grandchildren who are single,’ she explained. ‘He’s been dead for almost 39 years, and people are asking if he’s single.
‘It’s a San Quentin Prison photo from 1931. No he’s not single, he’s dead. There were friend requests, people following me, I got messages on Instagram.
‘It was insane,’ she said.