The Arizona Department of Corrections has confirmed to ABC15 that former Northern Arizona University student Steven Jones, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter and three counts of aggravated assault in a 2015 deadly shooting in Flagstaff, is out of prison and on parole.
Jones was serving a six-year sentence for killing 20-year-old Colin Brough and seriously injuring three other students.
Jones said he feared for his life and acted in self-defense after getting punched while walking near campus. But prosecutors say he returned to his car parked on campus, grabbed a gun and deliberately shot the students.
Brough died from his injuries. Students Nick Piring, Nick Prato and Kyle Zientek, all 20 years old, were wounded.
Jones was initially tried for first-degree murder, which would have meant a minimum 25 years in prison if he were found guilty. But a jury couldn’t reach a consensus.
A second trial was scheduled to begin in 2020 with Jones facing a reduced charge of second-degree murder. But he accepted a plea agreement to lesser charges before that trial began.
The case received national attention and was the subject of an ABC 20/20 report.
Jones received credit for time served in jail awaiting trial. So his six-year sentence ended up being about four and a half years served in the Department of Corrections. The department said he was released this week.
Jones declined an interview request from ABC15.
Email ABC15 Investigator Anne Ryman at: anne.ryman@abc15.com, call her at 602-685-6345, or connect on X, formerly known as Twitter, and Facebook.
