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Judge Denies Mistrial In NAU Shooting Trial

Chris Wimmer/12 News

A judge has denied a motion for a mistrial in the case of a former Northern Arizona University student charged with shooting and killing a student and wounding three others in 2015.

A judge has denied a motion for a mistrial in the case of a former Northern Arizona University student charged with shooting and killing a student and wounding three others in 2015. 

Lawyers made closing arguments Tuesday at the trial of 20-year-old Steven Jones.

Prosecutors say Jones acted as the aggressor after being punched in the face during the confrontation by returning to his car to retrieve the gun he would use in the shooting death of Colin Brough.

Prosecutor Ammon Barker repeatedly sought to undercut the key argument put forth by Steven Jones -- that he was acting in self-defense when he opened fire.

Barker said Jones escalated the situation by going back to his car to retrieve his gun after getting punched in the face. He said Jones was carrying out "his own deranged sense of justice."

Attorney Burges McCowan told jurors Tuesday that his client Steven Jones acted reasonably in defending himself when he was accosted by a drunken group of strangers, punched in the face and chased by some members of the group.

The shooting killed Brough and wounded Nicholas Piring, Nicholas Prato and Kyle Zeintek.

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