TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — A drive-by shooting near University of Arizona killed a 20 year old student. Now more than two years later some of the shooters involved are learning what their penalties will be.
5th Street has a different atmosphere than it did two years ago when a large house party gathered a lot of U of A athletes. There was a drive-by shooting at that scene and a young woman died. Now we know the punishment for two of the four people charged in that case.
Tucson Police say teenagers fired more than 80 times as they drove by a crowded house party on 5th Street.
Bullets hit four people. Erin Jones died of her wounds. The other three survived.
Tevion Beal was 17 at the time of the shooting. Two years later he pleaded guilty to the crime of drive-by shooting.
Waiting to learn his sentence, Beale heard Erin Jones' mother Renata Long testify by audio link about the two years of darkness and grief since her daughter was killed.
“ We faced another Mother's Day without her. We remembered the weekend we laid her to rest two years ago, and on May 15, I was forced to confront one of the major milestones Erin worked so hard to achieve, but never got a chance to experience. Two weeks ago, Erin should have graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in business administration.”
Beale’s attorney asked Judge Casey McGinley to impose a lighter sentence. She said Beale worked hard on his education while he was in jail waiting for his case to resolve.
Just before the judge handed down Beale’s sentence, he told Erin Jones’ family…he’s sorry.
“I was young and not thinking straight. I just hope you and your family will find peace over time. If you ever find peace in the future.”
Judge Mc Ginley sent Tevion Beale to prison for 12 years, treating as time served the roughly two years Beale’s already spent in jail. In April Judge Mc Ginley sent Marcus Williams, another defendant in the case, to prison for 14 years for his guilty plea. Two others did not take plea deals. They are set for trial later this summer.
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Craig Smith is a reporter for KGUN 9. With more than 40 years of reporting in cities like Tampa, Houston and Austin, Craig has covered more than 40 Space Shuttle launches and covered historic hurricanes like Katrina, Ivan, Andrew and Hugo. Share your story ideas and important issues with Craig by emailing craig.smith@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.
