Texas man held in Las Vegas in deadly 2020 Nevada-Arizona shooting rampage pleads guilty
LAS VEGAS– One of three suspects jailed in Las Vegas after fatal crash shooting in two states on Thanksgiving 2020, including the murder of a man at a southern Nevada supermarket and a shootout with authorities in northwestern Arizona, has pleaded guilty.
Christopher McDonnell, 32, entered his pleas Thursday to 23 felonies, including murder, attempted murder, murder conspiracy, weapons charges and illegal possession of a firearm as a felon, according to Clark County District Court records.
He had indicted on 55 counts, and his trial was scheduled for next month. A charge of committing a terrorist act was among the charges dropped as part of his plea deal.
“Christopher decided that taking responsibility for his actions was in his best interest,” his attorney, Ryan Bashor, said Friday. McDonnell remains jailed without bail in Las Vegas. His plea was the first reported by KLAS-TV.
McDonnell faces life in prison with a wide range of parole — a minimum of 21 years and a maximum of 164 years, prosecutor Michael Schwartzer told The Associated Press, adding that he will seek a sentence “beyond (McDonnell’s) natural life term. ”
The verdict is scheduled for December 13. Bashor said he hopes for a milder sentence.
The plea deal does not require Christopher McDonnell to testify at a jury trial set to begin Nov. 4 before his ex-wife, Kayleigh Lewis, 29, and his older brother, Shawn McDonnell, Schwartzer said.
Shawn McDonnell, 34, faces 54 charges, including committing an act of terrorism, and could face the death penalty if convicted.
Lewis, 29, faces 53 charges, including an act of terrorism, but will not face a possible death sentence.
Both remain jailed without bail. Their lawyers did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
Police and prosecutors say the 11-hour rampage began on Nov. 26, 2020, and included apparently random shootings involving Kevin Mendiola Jr. was killed in a supermarket in Henderson, near Las Vegas, and drive-by gunfire injured several other people.
It ended near the town of Parker, Arizona, on the Colorado River, after a chase involving Arizona Department of Public Safety officers, the crash of a car with a Texas license plate and the injury of Shawn McDonnell by troopers who wielded guns.
The three defendants, originally from Tyler, Texas, were returned to Las Vegas in custody, where a grand jury indicted them in March 2021.
Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said at the time that the crimes amounted to “heinous and indiscriminate” acts of terrorism and an attempt to cause widespread fear among the public.