A Bristol Borough man who was involved in a shooting that left a man with long-lasting injuries was sentenced to state prison Thursday.
Before Bucks County Judge Rea Boylan at the Justice Center in Doylestown, Jonathan Black, 22, was sentenced to 15 to 30 years behind bars.
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He was found guilty in September by a jury on four counts of attempted homicide and other counts of robbery, aggravated assault, terroristic threats, and related offenses,
Black fired at least two shots from a .380 semi-automatic handgun late at night in the area of Spruce and Headley streets in Bristol Borough in late spring 2018. One of the bullets struck a man in the face and other got struck in a white Volkswagen Jetta, which had four people in it.
Black and Jordan Jones, 19, of Bristol Township, fooled one of the people in the car by getting them to pay $450. Instead of turning over a promised gun, they received an empty bag. The two men had the car return and said they forgot the gun, but it was a plot to rob the group finding out they had marijuana, authorities said.
Credit: Bristol Borough police
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Jones, who was 17 at the time, ripped one of the men from the car and beat him. Jones then stuck his head into the car, but it started to drive away. Black then ran to follow and fired the handgun, stating that he wanted to kill everyone inside, authorities said.
As borough police were responding to the shots fired call, they were alerted that the shooting victim had been dropped off at Lower Bucks Hospital.
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Officers ended up pulling a traffic stop on the Jetta along Corson Street and a bullet hole and blood were found.
“This was not just a robbery, but an act of overt aggression,” said Deputy District Attorney Tom Gannon.
Black and Jones were in the wind after the shooting and captured a few weeks after by the U.S. Marshal Service’s Eastern Pennsylvania Violent Crime Fugitive Task Force at Racquet Club Apartments on Veterans Highway (Route 413) in Middletown. Authorities said tips from LevittownNow.com readers helped capture the two men.
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Jones ended up pleading guilty and was sentenced to four to 10 years in state prison with 15-years concurrent probation.
“It’s only by chance this was not a third-degree murder case,” the judge said.
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Black maintained his innocence at sentencing and declined to give a statement.
“I don’t really like talking,” he said. “I feel like talking will get me in trouble.”
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