Man gets 100 years in prison for shootings that killed 1, wounded others
LAS VEGAS — A judge in Las Vegas sentenced a Texas man to 100 years in prison for his role in a two-state shooting rampage on Thanksgiving 2020 that included the killing of a man in Nevada and a shootout with authorities in Arizona.
Christopher McDonnell, 32, pleaded guilty in October to more than 20 felonies including murder, attempted murder, murder conspiracy, weapon charges and being a felon illegally in possession of a firearm.
Clark County District Judge Tierra Jones sentenced him on Friday to a minimum of 100 years in prison, KLAS-TV reported. If he’s still alive, he would be eligible for parole in 2120 with credit for time served.
McDonnell of Tyler, Texas, his brother Shawn McDonnell, 34, and Shawn McDonnell’s then-wife, Kayleigh Lewis, 29, originally faced dozens of charges.
Police and prosecutors say the trio began an 11-hour rampage on Nov. 26, 2020 that included apparently random shootings that killed Kevin Mendiola Jr., 22, at a convenience store in Henderson, near Las Vegas, and drive-by gunfire that wounded several other people.
The group then continued into Arizona, where there were additional shootings, including one involving a police officer. All three were arrested after their car rolled over.
Prosecutors said Lewis was the driver as the two brothers fired indiscriminately out of the vehicle’s windows. Shawn McDonnell and Lewis are awaiting trial.
The shooting rampage ended near the Colorado River town of Parker, Arizona, after a chase involving officers from the Arizona Department of Public Safety, the crash of a car with a Texas license plate and the wounding of Shawn McDonnell by troopers wielding assault-style rifles, police said.
