Sep 8, 2023, News Release

Thirteen new indictments against Christopher Darnell Jones, Jr. were returned as true bills by an Albemarle County special grand jury on September 6, 2023.  The special grand jury was impaneled on May 3, 2023, and the issuance of these indictments is the culmination of the special grand jury’s work over the last several months.  These new charges supersede the pending charges against Mr. Jones that were certified to the October 2, 2023, regular grand jury.  The Charlottesville Albemarle Public Defender Office will continue to represent Mr. Jones, and the prosecution of this case will now proceed on the indictments issued by the special grand jury.  An indictment is merely an allegation and Christopher Darnell Jones, Jr. is presumed innocent until proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

There are six indictments for aggravated murder:

  • One indictment each for the killing of Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis, and D’Sean Perry charges the “willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing of more than one person as a part of the same act or transaction,” 18.2-31(7).
  • One indictment each for the killing of Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis, and D’Sean Perry charges the “willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing of more than one person within a three-year period,” 18.2-31(8).

These alternate theories of guilt with different elements give the Commonwealth the widest latitude in presenting evidence, but ultimately the Commonwealth is seeking three convictions of aggravated murder, not six.  First degree murder, defined as any willful, deliberate, and premeditated killing (18.2-32), is a lesser included offense of aggravated murder.

The remaining indictments are as follows:

  • One indictment charges aggravated malicious wounding of Mike Hollins.
  • One indictment charges aggravated malicious wounding of Marlee Morgan.
  • Five felony indictments charge the unlawful use or display of a firearm in committing a felony.

The firearm charges are associated with the three homicides and the two aggravated malicious wounding charges.

Aggravated murder is a Class 1 felony punishable by imprisonment for life and a fine of not more than $100,000 (18.2-10).  First degree murder, a lesser included offense of aggravated murder, is a Class 2 felony punishable by imprisonment for life or for any term not less than 20 years and a fine of not more than $100,000 (18.2-10).

Aggravated malicious wounding is also a Class 2 felony.

The first conviction of the use or display of a firearm in committing a felony is an unclassified felony punishable by a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of three years.  Subsequent convictions are punishable by mandatory minimum terms of imprisonment of five years.  All such punishment on the firearm charges shall be separate and apart from and run consecutively with the punishment for the commission of the primary felony (18.2-53.1).

The case has been scheduled for a status review in Albemarle County Circuit Court on October 2, 2023.

This office will have no further comments or statements to release.