Man pleads guilty to lesser charges in 2021 homicide

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) - A man who was arrested in the 2021 shooting death of a 40-year-old man has pleaded guilty to lesser charges.

Police say 21-year-old Ahmad Pearson fatally shot Travis Jones on August 31, 2021. Court documents show police believe the Pearson was seeking revenge for his mother’s murder.

Officers say Twilah Newmon-Thomas, Pearson’s mother, was murdered in September of 2020 and one of the suspects in the case matched Travis Jones’ description. According to court documents, a witness told police they heard Pearson planned to retaliate against Jones.

In court on Wednesday, documents show Pearson entered a plea agreement for the charges of voluntary manslaughter and use of a firearm. He would spend no less than 20 years and no more than 40 years behind bars for those charges, the agreement says. The plea agreement calls for the charge of murder to be dropped if it is accepted by a judge.

Pearson is set to be sentenced on March 16.