4th and final suspect pleads guilty in 2017 drive-by shooting

BLADEN COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A Clarkton man will spend at least the next decade behind bars after pleading guilty to a 2017 drive-by shooting.

The District Attorney’s Office says Donte Jones, 21, pleaded guilty to two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury and two counts of discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle moments before his trial was scheduled to start in Bladen County Superior Court today.

As a result, Jones got an active prison sentence of 10-14 years.

Prosecutors say on June 9, 2017, witnesses said a Nissan Altima with four people inside pulled up in front of a home in East Arcadia and shot at the house. Before speeding away, the suspects’ shots hit two occupied vehicles. Two people were each shot once shot in the leg. Law enforcement recovered 27 shell casings at the scene.

The victims were rushed to New Hanover Regional Medical Center, where they were treated for their gunshot wounds and released.

Bladen County deputies responding to a 911 call about the shooting quickly located the suspect vehicle. Investigators say that led to a high-speed chase through the county. Dash cam video of the chase showed the suspect vehicle slowing down before Jones and another co-defendant got out and ran off. The vehicle then accelerated again. Deputies later stopped the vehicle and arrested the two remaining occupants.

A K-9 unit found Jones at a nearby mobile home still wearing the same clothes that he wore as he got out of the vehicle.

The other co-defendants in the case, Trent Martin, Jamie Powell and Phil Wilson previously entered guilty pleas in the case and each also received an active prison sentence.