Texas man held in Las Vegas during deadly 2020 shootings in Nevada and Arizona pleads guilty – Associated Press

FILE – This undated booking photo provided by the Henderson Police Department shows Christopher McDonnell, 28, of Tyler, Texas. According to Clark County District Court records, on Thursday, October 10, 2024, Christopher McDonnell, 32, pleaded guilty to 23 felonies, including murder, attempted murder, murder conspiracy, weapons charges and unlawful possession of a firearm. (Henderson Police Department via AP, File)

One of three suspects jailed in Las Vegas after murder bi-state shooting rampage on Thanksgiving Day 2020, including the killing of a man at a southern Nevada grocery store and a shootout with authorities in northwestern Arizona, he pleaded guilty.

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

Had was accused of 55 charges, and his trial is set for next month. Among the charges he dropped as part of the plea agreement was a charge of committing an act of terrorism.

“Christopher decided that it was in his best interest to take responsibility for his actions,” his attorney, Ryan Bashor, said Friday. McDonnell remains jailed without bail in Las Vegas. His request came first KLAS-TV reports.

McDonnell faces life in prison with a wide range of parole eligibility – from a minimum of 21 to 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 13. Bashor expressed hope that he would receive a lighter sentence.

The settlement does not require Christopher McDonnell to testify at a jury trial, scheduled to begin Nov. 4, on behalf of his ex-wife, Kayleigh Lewis, 29, and older brother Shawn McDonnell, Schwartzer said.

Shawn McDonnell, 34, faces 54 felony charges, including committing an act of terrorism, for which he could face the death penalty if convicted.

Lewis, 29, faces 53 felony charges, including an act of terrorism, but does not face the death penalty.

Both remain in jail without bail. Their lawyers did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

Police and prosecutors say the 11-hour rampage began on Nov. 26, 2020, and included the apparently accidental shootings that left Kevin Mendiola Jr. dead. at a grocery store in Henderson near Las Vegas, and gunshots that injured several other people.

It ended near the Colorado River town of Parker, Arizona, after a chase involving Arizona Department of Public Safety officers, a car crashing into a Texas license plate and the wounding of Shawn McDonnell by troopers armed with assault rifles.

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

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