A Criminal Court jury on Thursday afternoon found D'vante Jones guilty of second-degree murder in a slaying that was caught on video in front of the local Amazon facility.
The state had sought a first-degree murder conviction in the case in which 19-year-old Javonte Moon was killed in the early morning of Aug. 9, 2023.
Prosecutor Paul Moyle had told the jury that it was a premeditated case. He said Jones left the plant after a run-in with Moon, went home to get a gun, then returned and waited an hour and a half until Moon came out the front door.
He said Jones appeared to celebrate like a victorious athlete after firing a fatal shot into the face of the victim. Austin Schofield also prosecuted the case.
The defendant was represented by Alex Shoaf and Mike Little of the Public Defender's Office.
Sentencing is April 11.
If convicted as charged, Jones would not have been eligible for parole consideration until after serving 51 years.
An expert witness called by the defense in the Amazon shooting case had testified that Jones suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The licensed clinical psychologist said it related to a disturbing incident that he faced when he was 13.
The Criminal Court jury also heard from a female Amazon worker who was mentioned earlier in the case as an interest of both Jones and the victim.
The female said she was present on the Amazon parking lot during a work break around 1:50 a.m. on the day of the shooting when there was a confrontation between Jones and Moon.
She said Moon was making threats against Jones, but she felt he was "bluffing." She said Moon did not display any type of weapon or engage in any physical attack.
The female said she started work at Amazon on July 16 and met Jones the next day. She said they had only been together away from work on one occasion and she was still getting to know him.
The witness said Moon was "persistent" in approaching her at work.
The jury on Tuesday got several views of the fatal shooting just outside the front doors of the Amazon Fulfillment Center on Discovery Drive.
Jones, who was 20 at the time of the Aug. 9, 2023, close range shooting, is standing trial in the courtroom of Judge Amanda Dunn for murder.
The video shows Jones walk up to a pair on a bench, greet them, then head for Moon just after he had walked out. He walked directly toward him, then shot him in the face. Moon later died.
Jones afterward told detective Jason Gunn that he had waited an hour and a half for the encounter with his workmate.
Jones, who had only been at Amazon for a month, said he got along with Moon the first two weeks and was sometimes dropped off at his house by him. However, he said Moon started agitating him, including trying to flirt with Kayla, a female that Jones was interested in.
He said Moon "kept trying to talk to her to make me mad. She was telling me I don't have anything to worry about."
In the interview, Jones said Moon persistently "kept trying to get under my skin," including when they were walking down stairs near one another near the time of the shooting.
Jones said Moon on that occasion "said he was going to kill me" and told him he wanted to fight him.
Jones told the detective, "I pretty much got fed up. I went home and got my five (gun)."
He said he returned to the plant and waited an hour and a half for Moon to come outside. He told of then walking up to him and "shooting him in the face."
Jones told the detective where to find the gun (in a juniper bush by the Amazon parking lot). He said he bought the Springfield 45-caliber at a pawn shop.
A single 45-caliber shell casing was found at the scene along with a puddle of blood. A 45-caliber projectile was removed from the victim during the autopsy.
Greg Mardis, who was nearing retirement at the time with the crime scene unit, told of finally locating the gun in a line of junipers. He said it still had one bullet in the chamber and three in the magazine.
A Lyft driver told of picking up Jones from the plant in the early morning. He said Jones was mainly quiet on the ride. He said he had driven away from the house when he got a "ping" and found that Jones wanted to come back to his house for a return ride.
The witness said Jones was more excitable and talkative at this time, and he indicated he had a gun on him. The driver said he learned that "there was some sort of conflict and the other guy said he would kill him."
He said Jones stated that he got the gun "for his protection."
The driver said he learned on the news about an hour later that there had been a shooting at Amazon and the victim was not expected to live. He said he immediately called police.
He said, "I assumed my car was on camera, and I didn't want police all over town coming after me."