A Man From Ely Has Pled Guilty to Manslaughter in Death Of Toddler

RENO, Nev. (775 Times, NV Globe) – A man from northeast Nevada who was charged with the murder of a youngster in his care in 2019 has pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter inside Indian Country as part of a plea arrangement with federal prosecutors.

Colon Jackson, 30, an Ely Shoshone Tribe member, was arrested in August 2019 and charged with first-degree murder in the killing of the 3-year-old daughter on the reservation in Ely, roughly 30 miles (48 kilometers) west of the Utah line.

Jackson, whose girlfriend was the victim’s mother, pled guilty to manslaughter in Reno last week after the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada submitted a revised plea-bargain deal on the lower charge on December 12. He was sentenced to 15 years in jail, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release.

According to the plea agreement, Jackson stated that he murdered the girl “when in a sudden fight or heat of emotion, prompted by appropriate provocation,” carelessly “but without intent by swaying and flinging her body.”

Jackson has been imprisoned in White Pine County since an August 2019 federal grand jury indicted him on one count of first-degree murder. According to the indictment, on Jan. 9, 2019, the girl’s mother picked her up from a day care and drove her home so Jackson could care for her while the mother was at work.

Jackson subsequently called her at work and informed her that the girl was unconscious. According to the indictment, the mother returned home and brought the daughter to an emergency room before she was transported to a hospital in Salt Lake City, where she died.

The lawsuit was set to go to trial in federal court in Reno next month. In the Dec. 12 filing, U.S. Assistant Attorney Penelope Brady stated that Jackson agrees that if he chose to go to trial rather than plead guilty, prosecutors could show his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Judge Larry Hicks set the official sentence date for March 9, 2023.

Credits: KoloTV