One of the three men charged in connection with the shooting death of Rayshawn Ransom pled guilty Tuesday to one count of attempted murder.
Ransom, 19, was shot and killed on June 12, 2013, while sitting in a car with two friends on Passaic Street. Authorities have said that Alton Jones, 23, and Dyquise Leonard, 20, are gang members from the West Ward who had some kind of dispute with a group of people from Passaic Street. A meeting about a truce was scheduled between the two groups, but as soon as the factions came face to face, Jones, Leonard, and Marquis Skillman allegedly started firing bullets into the car. Two of Ransom’s friends were wounded in the deadly barrage.
Although all three suspects allegedly fired into the car, prosecutors say that Jones was responsible for firing the kill shot, which came from a distinctive 10mm automatic handgun that witnesses pointed out to police after it was tossed from the getaway car around the corner from the shooting scene.
Leonard pled guilty Tuesday to one count of attempted murder after rejecting a plea deal on Monday. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Leonard will be sentenced to 12 years in prison, and he must serve 85 percent of that sentence before he is eligible for parole. A sentencing date has not been scheduled at this time.