A former University of Virginia student pleaded guilty Wednesday to the 2022 shooting deaths of three football players and wounding two other students on campus.
Christopher Darnell Jones Jr.25, pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated malicious wounding, and five counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
A four-day sentencing hearing is scheduled to begin Feb. 4 in Albemarle County Circuit Court.
Prosecutors read in court Wednesday a summary of what they allege happened the day of the shootings, including shocking details that have not previously been released publicly.
While traveling on a bus hours before the shooting, Jones texted an adult counselor he had known for several years and said, “Tonight I’m either going to hell or jail. I’m sorry,” according to the summary.
The Associated Press obtained a draft copy of the summary.
Jones was scheduled to stand trial in January on charges including aggravated murder, which carries a mandatory sentence of life without parole in Virginia.
The charge of first-degree murder to which he pleaded guilty in a plea agreement with prosecutors carries a sentence of 20 years to life in prison.
Authorities said Jones opened fire on a charter bus as he and other students returned to campus after seeing a play and having dinner together in Washington, DC.
The shooting occurred near a parking garage and the Charlottesville campus was locked down for 12 hours until the suspect was captured.
Many huddled inside closets and dark dorm rooms at the school of about 23,000 students, while others locked the doors of the university’s stately academic buildings.
The university, founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819, also endured a violent “Unite the Right” rally in 2017, in which hundreds of white nationalists protested plans to remove a Confederate statue.
A car plowed into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing one person and injuring several others.
Authorities have not released a motive for the shooting of Jones, a former member of the university’s football team.
Football players LaVell Davis Jr., De’Sean Perry and Devin Chandler were killed, while a fourth member of the team, Mike Hollins, and another student, Marlee Morgan, were injured.
According to a draft copy of prosecutors’ summary, Jones’ time on the team did not coincide with that of the players he shot.
And there was no indication that Jones and the player knew or interacted with each other until shortly before the shooting.
A witness previously told police that Jones targeted specific victims.
The summary read by prosecutors said a student told officers that while walking back to campus he heard Jones talking quietly to himself, saying, among other things, “I’m sorry if I offended you. I Sorry.” I didn’t mean to hurt you,” “I’ve been through a lot in my life,” and “I don’t have any weapons,”
Prosecutors said Jones became irritable after the football players arrived at the beginning of the trip.
Jones also sat alone during the game and on the way home.
According to prosecutors, a woman who had previously rejected Jones romantically had swapped phone numbers with Chandler, one of the men later killed.
“Just tell my story,” Jones told her adult mentor via text before shooting. Prosecutors also said, “I was a good man and I never intended or initiated any harm to anyone.”
In his final message, Jones typed, “They are not getting off this bus.”
According to prosecutors, Jones sent messages to several family members, including his mother, to tell them he loved them.
He also told his younger brother that something could happen by adding a siren emoji.
The summary states that during the violence, Jones “methodically checked each seat until he reached the back of the bus” to shoot some of his victims.
The university’s president, Jim Ryan, said Jones’ guilty plea represented “another step in a long and painful journey for the victims’ families and our community.”
“We are grieving the loss of three beloved members of our community and the injuries sustained by others aboard the bus,” Ryan’s statement said.
Within days of the shootings, university leaders asked for external review Examining the school’s safety policies and procedures, its response to violence, and its prior efforts to assess the potential danger of the accused student.
School officials acknowledged that Jones was already on the radar of the university’s threat-assessment team.
In June, Kimberly Wald, an attorney representing some of the victims and their families, announced that the university had agreed to pay $9 million in the settlement.
Wald said the university should have removed Jones from campus before the attack because he had displayed numerous red flags through erratic and unstable behavior.
Michael Haggard, the attorney representing the families of three of the five shooting victims in the civil case, said they were initially opposed to a plea agreement because they wanted Jones to stand trial and face charges of aggravated murder. Receive the maximum possible sentence, which is life without the possibility of parole.
“It was difficult for him. They may want more, but they are anxiously awaiting this punishment. They want life in prison,” Haggard said.
Haggard said the family was eager to see the report released on the independent investigation, adding, “They wanted a trial to learn more about what exactly happened.”
University officials said they postponed the report’s release last year out of concern that it might prejudice Jones’ trial.
School leadership said in a statement Wednesday that they plan to release him after sentencing is determined in February.
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