NAU student charged in fatal shooting to be released to await trial
Apr 12, 2016, 4:30 PM | Updated: Apr 13, 2016, 9:43 am
(Northern Arizona University Police Department via AP)
(Northern Arizona University Police Department via AP)
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — A Northern Arizona University who shot and killed another student during a fight last year will be released from jail while he awaits trial, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Steven Jones said he acted in self-defense when he shot Colin Brough on NAU’s Flagstaff campus on Oct. 9 killing him with a .40 caliber handgun. Three others were wounded.
Jones said he feared for his life after he was punched in the face. He said he ran to his car to get his gun for protection. His attorneys said Brough and another young man, Nicholas Pring, charged Jones, after he told them he had a gun.
Prosecutors said Jones wasn’t justified in using lethal force.
Jones is charged with first-degree murder and assault.
The hearing in Coconino County Superior Court was listed as a case management conference.
Defense attorneys had asked Judge Dan Slayton in February to release Jones to the custody of his parents. He will be monitored around-the-clock with a GPS device while living at his parents’ home in Glendale.
Slayton said Tuesday that Jones is expected to be released once court officials in Maricopa County install the monitoring device and ensure it works.
His parents have agreed to remove all weapons from their home. Jones will be on a curfew and cannot have any contact with the victims.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
