A Jacksonville man was sentenced to 24 years in state prison for a BB gun shooting spree in which numerous vehicles were shot along interstates 4 and 95 in Volusia and Flagler counties.
Deon Jones, 24, pleaded no contest to 17 counts of shooting into an occupied vehicle. The agreement resolved charges against Jones in Flagler and St. Johns counties as well.
Jones, who has three prior felonies on his record, was scheduled to be sentenced on April 27 but did not show up. His bondsman turned him in on May 9, according to court records.
Volusia County Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols sentenced Jones Thursday.
Tiyana Anderson, 25, also of Jacksonville, was driving the car while Jones was shooting the BB gun, according to a report.
She entered a no-contest plea in April to 17 counts of being a principal to shooting into an occupied vehicle. Anderson agreed to testify in the case and to have no contact with Jones. She was sentenced to five years’ probation and adjudication was withheld, meaning she was not convicted of the charges.
Anderson also pleaded to being a principal to criminal mischief and was adjudicated guilty and was sentenced to 64 days time served. That incident stemmed from a woman whose window was shattered by a BB while on I-95 in Flagler County.
The incident occurred on New Year’s Day in 2020. Motorists traveling along I-4 and I-95 in Volusia, Flagler, St. Johns and Seminole counties reported their vehicles being shot and windows being shattered.
An investigation led to a vehicle registered to Jones’ grandmother in Jacksonville who said Jones had been in possession of the vehicle at the time of the shootings.
When the vehicle was checked, BBs were located on the floorboard. And it appeared as if someone inside the vehicle had shot the passenger side mirror, breaking it, a report said.