PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A North Philadelphia man has been found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder for a 2019 campground shooting.
Prosecutors had filed paperwork to seek the death penalty, but after the verdict was reached for 42-year-old Miles Jones, they told the judge they would not pursue it.
Jones was found guilty of murder and related offenses for the October 2019 shootings of Eric Braxton and Arthur Hill at the Homestead Family Campground in West Rockhill Township.
Prosecutors say after a night of drinking, Jones got in an argument with his girlfriend. It turned physical when others tried to calm him down. He got out of his car, shot Braxton point-blank in the chest, then shot Hill in the back.
Jones' lawyer tried to argue it was self-defense. After the verdict, prosecutor Ed Louka called that claim "a joke."
Louka said the decision to back off of the death penalty gives the victims' families closure, adding they are not vindictive and feel the conviction is justice.
First-degree murder carries a mandatory life sentence. Jones' sentencing is scheduled for Thursday.
