1st Defendant Sentenced in Wild Nevada-Arizona Shooting Spree

A man who paraitcipated in a multi-state shootng spree that killed a 22-year-old man was sentenced Friday to a minimum of 100 years in prison.

Christopher McDonnell, 32, pleaded guilty but mentally hill to nearly 2 dozen felonies from the November 2020 incident that also involved his brother, Shawn McDonnell, 34, and the brother’s then-wife, 29-year-old Kayleigh Lewis, KLAS reported.

The three were arrested after a pursuit that ended in a rollover crash.

Police said Lewis drove while the McDonnell brothers fired out the windows. At a Henderson convenience store, Kevin Mendiola Jr. was killed and his brother and girlfriend wounded.

Victim Kevin Mendiola Jr was shot and killed a convenience store in Henderson, Nevada/Facebook

The McDonnells and Lewis continued into Arizona, where the shootings continued, including one involving a police officer that wounded Shawn McDonnell, as CrimeOnline reported.

Christopher McDonnell’s attorney asked for a minimum 21 year sentence on Friday, KLAS said, but the judge went for the lengthier term.

“I take full responsibility for my own wrongdoings, and I appreciate the court’s for administering justice,” he said in court.

Shawn McDonnell and Lewis are awaiting trial, but Lewis appeared in a closed hearing on Friday, and a sentencing hearing for her was scheduled for next June.

Lewis filed for divorce while in jail.

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