MURPHYSBORO, Ill. (AP) -- A southern Illinois man faces up to 60 years in prison after pleading guilty in a 2009 shooting death involving a gun stolen from Carbondale's police chief.
Nineteen-year-old Matthew Jones pleaded guilty Monday in Jackson County Circuit Court to a first-degree murder count. His trial was to have begun that day.
Witnesses have said Jones shot Deaunta Spencer of Carbondale in the back after Spencer tried to punch him. Authorities say they found what they believe to be the murder weapon -- a semiautomatic handgun -- a few blocks from the scene.
The (Carbondale) Southern Illinoisan (http://bit.ly/Js5QFo) reports the gun used in the killing was that of Carbondale Police Chief Jody O'Guinn, who reported the weapon stolen months earlier.
Jones' $1 million bond was revoked Monday.
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Information from: Southern Illinoisan, http://www.southernillinoisan.com
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
