Tyrone James Jr. pleads guilty to involuntary manslaughter, armed criminal action

A Boone County man charged with second degree murder and armed criminal action for his role in a deadly shooting appeared in court for a pre-trial conference Friday. He pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action.

Tyrone James Jr., 19, admitted to shooting and killing 17-year-old Marquez Reed in July 2016. James was sentenced to seven years in prison for the involuntary manslaughter charge and 10 years in prison for the armed criminal action charge. His sentences will be served concurrent, so he will spend up to 10 years in prison.

According to court documents, a witness said he saw Reed walk up to a black or dark green car and have an argument with the person in the passenger’s seat, who was later identified as James.

The witness said he saw Reed hit the passenger through the window. He said he then heard gunshots and saw Reed run away from the car before falling to the ground.

The documents also included testimony from Jadarius Sanders, who admitted to being the driver of the car. He’s charged with hindering prosecution of a felony and tampering with physical evidence in felony prosecution in connection to the deadly shooting.

According to a probable cause statement, Sanders confirmed Reed and James had an argument and he saw Reed punch James through the window. Sanders said he heard gunshots and then witnessed James hide something in his backpack.

Sanders said James made a phone call as they were driving from the scene, and he heard James say he shot someone. Sanders said there was a backseat passenger in the car as well. The group drove to Bethany Drive, and the backseat passenger agreed to get rid of the gun, Sanders said.

Days after the incident, James turned himself in to the Boone County Sheriff’s Department on warrants for second-degree murder and armed criminal action.