Co-Defendant in Waite Park Motel 6 Shooting Pleads Guilty

ST. CLOUD --  One of the men accused in a Waite Park shooting that injured a man has pleaded guilty.

The Stearns County Attorney's Office says 20-year-old Deandre Jones has pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a handgun.

Police were called to the Motel 6 shortly after 6:00 p.m. on December 12th. Records show a victim had been shot six times as he was standing outside a car. A child and two other people were inside the car when the shots rang out but were not hurt.

Officers discovered a total of 16 shell casings at the scene and followed two sets of footprints to a home in the 100 block of 7th Avenue North in Waite Park. Officers detained two men who were leaving the building and determined their shoe prints matched those left leaving the scene of the shooting. Police also recovered a black .40 caliber handgun and ammunition used in the shooting.

Interviews with the victims identified 19-year-old Jonathon Hanson as the triggerman. One of the victims told officers he had recently had an argument with Hanson at the mall.

Hanson has been charged with attempted first-degree murder, three counts of second degree assault and one count of being a felon in possession of a gun. He's being held on $1,500,000 bail.

The Attorney's Office says Jones will be required to serve three years in prison when he's sentenced April 6th.