Man pleads in UM medical student's death

ANN ARBOR (AP) -- A man pleaded guilty last Friday in the shooting death of a University of Michigan medical student and provided the victim's family with a firsthand account of the killing. Shaquille Jones, who pleaded to second-degree murder in Washtenaw County Trial Court, said he, Joei Jordan and another man came to Ann Arbor to break into houses last summer, including one that contained Paul DeWolf's apartment. "In a split second, I saw DeWolf grabbing for the gun," Jones said in court, adding that another man pushed DeWolf in the shoulder and the gun went off. Asked what DeWolf said after the shot was fired, Jones said: "He screamed." Paul DeWolf, 25, was found fatally shot at the off-campus Phi Rho Sigma medical fraternity July 24 after failing to appear for work at a hospital. A video game system was taken and later sold for $80. Thom DeWolf said hearing about his son's final moments was more difficult than he expected. "To hear the details and to have somebody actually confess to witnessing it and being a part of that, it was difficult," DeWolf told The Ann Arbor News outside the courtroom. Jones, of North Charleston, S.C., will spend at least 18 years in prison. He also agreed to testify in any future court proceedings. Jordan, 20, faces an open murder charge. Jones, 21, also pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree home invasion and one count of conspiracy to commit first-degree home invasion. Judge Archie Brown said that while 18 years is the minimum sentence Jones faces, the maximum is up to the court. Paul DeWolf, a native of Schoolcraft in southwestern Michigan and a graduate of Grand Valley State University, was attending medical school on an Air Force scholarship and held the rank of second lieutenant. Published: Tue, Feb 11, 2014