A California father has pleaded no contest to murder in the shooting death of his 9-year-old autistic son.
Nicholas Jones, 34, was immediately sentenced to 15 years to life in state prison after entering his plea Wednesday, which included admitting that he was armed with and used a weapon during the commission of the crime, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Jones was charged with killing his son, Princeton, on Nov. 30, 2024. Princeton died from a gunshot wound to the head after being shot in his grandparents’ yard, court records said.
Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies responded to a home outside Compton and quickly identified the boy’s “biological father” as a suspect, sheriff’s officials said at the time.
Jones was arrested the next day and has been behind bars since then.
On a GoFundMe page launched to help the family with funeral services, relatives said that Princeton was “a truly special young man with a brilliant mind and a warm heart.”
“Diagnosed with mild autism at the age of 2, Princeton worked tirelessly with the loving support of his mother and began speaking fluently by the age of 5,” the family wrote. “Princeton was a beacon of joy, lighting up every room he entered with his humor and infectious smile. He was adored by his friends, family and community, who all cherished the incredible person he was becoming.”
Princeton’s mother, Creole Green, said in the days after her son’s death that she and his father co-parented Princeton and that she didn’t understand what led up to his killing.
“I don’t know why, I don’t know what happened. I came to the scene and the police told me my baby was gone,” she said. “He was all I had. How am I supposed to move on from this and how am I supposed to say strong?”
A family friend, Lakeyshema Collins, added, “He loved that boy. This man would pick his son up from school, take him to school, cut his hair. I mean dance with his son — any and everything.”