The man accused of shooting his 9-year-old son made his first court appearance Tuesday in connection with the charges he faces.
Nicholas Jones, 32, pleaded not guilty to a murder charge and an allegation of child abuse resulting in death. Law enforcement say the man fatally shot his son, Princeton Jones.
On Saturday night, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department responded to a shooting at a home on Haskins and Alondra in West Rancho Dominguez. There, Princeton Jones was found suffering from at least once gunshot wound in his grandmother's backyard. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Family and friends filled the Compton courtroom Tuesday, everyone grieving Princeton’s death while also dealing with the news that his dad was charged with murder.
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“I just want everybody to wait until we all hear what happened,” family friend Lakeyshema Collins said.
Collins was one of the family friends in the courtroom. She said the 9-year-old had two loving parents and Princeton’s dad would never harm him.
“Can’t nobody tell me Nicholas harmed this boy. He’s not that type of man. He loved that boy,” Collins said. “This man would pick his son up from school, take him to school, cut his hair. I mean dance with his son -- any and everything.”
Princeton was a student in the Long Beach Unified School District.
LASD has not revealed what led up to the shooting. While family and friends wait for facts to come forward, they're remembering Princeton.
“That little boy was full of life, full of love, full of God,” Collins said. “He come from two loving parents. And that’s all I want the world to know.”
Jones is being held on more than $3 million bail. His next court appearance is set for Jan. 7.
