A man accused of fatally shooting his 9-year-old son made his first court appearance Tuesday in connection with the charges.
Nicholas Jones, 32, has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and child abuse resulting in death. Law enforcement said the man shot and killed his son, Princeton Jones.
On Saturday night, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department responded to a shooting at the residence of Haskins and Alondra in West Rancho Dominguez. There, Princeton Jones was found in his grandmother’s backyard with at least one gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
A Compton courtroom was filled with family and friends on Tuesday, all mourning Princeton’s death but also hearing the news that his father had been charged with murder.
“We just want everyone to wait until they hear what happened,” said Lakeyshema Collins, a family friend.
Collins was one of the family friends in the courtroom. She said her 9-year-old son has two loving parents and Princeton’s father would never harm him.
“No one can say that Nicholas harmed this boy. That’s not the type of guy he was. He loved the boy,” Collins said. “This guy picked his son up from school, took him to school, cut his hair. I mean dance with his son. Everything.”
Princeton was a student in the Long Beach Unified School District.
LASD has not disclosed what led to the shooting. Family and friends are remembering Princeton as they wait for the facts to emerge.
“That boy was full of life, full of love, full of God,” Collins said. “He was born to two loving parents, and that’s all I want the world to know.”
Jones is being held on more than $3 million bail. His next court appearance is scheduled for January 7th.
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