A former northern Arizona university student was sentenced to six years in prison Tuesday in connection with a 2015 campus shooting that left one student dead and three injured. KNAU’s Ryan Heinsius reports.
Twenty-three-year-old Steven Jones faced up to 10 years in prison, but Judge Dan Slayton sentenced him to six in the death of Colin Brough and five years for each of the three aggravated assault charges he faced, all to be served concurrently.
Prosecutors as well as two of the surviving victims, Kyle Zientek and Nick Piring, had asked for the maximum sentence. Brough’s mother Claudia addressed the judge.
"I miss him, I miss his smile, I miss his voice, I miss his infectious laugh … I miss hearing about his dreams," Claudia Brough said.
Prosecutors allege Jones acted as the aggressor when he retrieved a handgun from his car and opened fire following a fight.
Jones’ attorneys, however, say their client feared for his life and acted in self-defense after having been attacked. Jones briefly spoke near the end of the hearing.
"If it were possible I would trade places in a heartbeat with Colin Brough. If he could be at home with his family and I could be dead, I would do that," Jones said.
Jones will return to the Coconino County Jail to resume his sentence following a plea deal reached with prosecutors last month.
