Texas man held in 2020 deadly Nevada-Arizona shooting in Las Vegas pleads guilty

LAS VEGAS (AP) — One of three suspects jailed in Las Vegas following a deadly rampage across two states on Thanksgiving 2020, including the killing of a man at a supermarket in southern Nevada and a shootout with authorities in northwestern Arizona, has pleaded guilty guilty.

Christopher McDonnell, 32, entered his plea Thursday on 23 felony counts, including murder, attempted murder, murder conspiracy, weapons charges and illegal possession of a firearm, according to Clark County District Court records.

He was charged with 55 counts and his trial was scheduled for next month. As part of his plea agreement, the charge of committing a terrorist attack was dropped, among other things.

“Christopher decided it was in his best interest to accept responsibility for his actions,” his attorney Ryan Bashor said Friday. McDonnell remains in jail in Las Vegas without bail. His plea was first reported by KLAS-TV.

McDonnell faces a life sentence with a wide range of parole conditions – a minimum of 21 years and a maximum of 164 years, prosecutor Michael Schwartzer told The Associated Press, adding that he would seek a sentence “beyond (McDonnell’s) natural life sentence.”

Sentencing is scheduled for December 13th. Bashor said he hoped for a lighter sentence.

The plea agreement does not require Christopher McDonnell to testify at a jury trial scheduled to begin Nov. 4 for his former wife, Kayleigh Lewis, 29, and his older brother, Shawn McDonnell, Schwartzer said.

34-year-old Shawn McDonnell is accused of 54 crimes, including committing a terrorist attack. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.

The 29-year-old Lewis is charged with 53 crimes, including a terrorist attack, but he does not face a possible death penalty.

Both remain in jail without bail. Her defense attorneys did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

According to police and prosecutors, the 11-hour rampage began on November 26, 2020 and included seemingly random shootings that killed Kevin Mendiola Jr. at a supermarket in Henderson, near Las Vegas, as well as drive-by shootings that killed several other people were injured.

It ended near the Colorado River town of Parker, Arizona, after a chase with Arizona Department of Public Safety officers, the crash of a car with a Texas license plate and the injury of Shawn McDonnell by police officers with assault rifles.

The three defendants, originally from Tyler, Texas, were returned to custody in Las Vegas, where they were indicted by a grand jury in March 2021.

Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said at the time that the crimes were “heinous and random” acts of terrorism and an attempt to incite widespread fear among the public.