The University of Virginia student who shot and killed three UVA Football players and wounded two others in a Nov. 13, 2022, mass shooting on Grounds has pleaded guilty to charges connected to the case, avoiding a trial that had been set to begin in January.
Christopher Darnell Jones pleaded guilty in Albemarle County Circuit Court on Wednesday to three counts of first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated malicious wounding, and five counts for the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
Jones, 24, faces five life terms plus 23 years.
The court has scheduled a four-day sentencing hearing in the case that is set to begin Feb. 4.
“Today’s proceedings represent another step in a lengthy and painful journey for the families of the victims and for our community. We continue to grieve the loss of three beloved members of our community and the injuries suffered by others on the bus,” UVA President Jim Ryan said in a statement released on Wednesday.
Jones had taken part in a field trip to Washington, D.C., with a group of drama students that had included UVA Football players Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr., Mike Hollins and D’Sean Perry.
As the bus bringing the students back was parking near the Culbreth Road parking garage, Jones opened fire, killing Chandler, Davis and Perry, and critically wounding Hollins and a fifth student, Marlee Morgan, before fleeing the scene.
Jones was apprehended the next day in Henrico County.
It emerged in the immediate aftermath of the shooting that Jones had been the subject of an investigation by the University that he was in possession of a gun that was later dropped because Jones wouldn’t cooperate with investigators.
It was discovered in the course of that investigation by UVA officials that Jones had been convicted in 2021 on a concealed weapons charge, and had not reported the conviction to the University as required.
The school prepared to refer the failure of Jones to report the conviction to a student-led judiciary committee for potential discipline, and after originally saying that this had been done, a school spokesperson clarified that the matter had in fact not been referred to the committee for further action.
An external review of the University’s actions in the Jones case conducted by the office of Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares was submitted to UVA officials in October 2023.
UVA leaders had initially pledged to make the report public, but later moved to delay the release, citing the potential impact on the criminal trial.
A news release from the University on Wednesday noted that the plan now is to “provide the documents to the public after sentencing is final in February.”
ICYMI
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