FLAGSTAFF — Steven Jones has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and three counts of aggravated assault in a 2015 deadly shooting in Flagstaff.
As part of the agreement, Jones will be sentenced to between five and 10 years in prison. He must serve at least 85% of the time.
Steven Jones, a Northern Arizona University student at the time, opened fire on the group of people in 2015 after he says he was attacked over a small prank between two rival fraternities.
The fight started after Jones and two pledges from his fraternity carried out a prank by ringing the doorbell of an apartment and running away. The prank set off a fight between Jones and students in the apartment from a rival fraternity. Jones got punched in the face.
Jones had said he went back toward the group and fired his gun, but he didn't mean to hurt anyone. He testified he fired several shots "to stop the immediate threat that was coming at me."
Jones admitted to shooting and killing Colin Brough but told police he did it out of self-defense. The prosecutors, however, said that Jones could have left the area and did not need to resort to using a weapon.
The case originally went to a jury but was declared a mistrial in 2017 because a unanimous verdict couldn’t be reached.
Family of the victims in the shooting have reportedly agreed to the plea deal as well. A sentencing hearing is set for February 11.
