The fate of a plea agreement in the case of Jonathan Weston, one of the individuals who entered a guilty plea to his role in the 2022 incident that led to the fatal shooting of Alijah Watts, remains up in the air following proceedings Thursday in Christian Circuit Court.
In prior court hearings following the guilty plea to facilitation to first-degree assault and first-degree wanton endangerment, the family of the victim expressed interest in withdrawing the plea after it was determined that the case would be sent back to juvenile court for the sentencing.
In court Thursday, Circuit Judge John Atkins says he dislikes delaying the proceedings, but he would like to give both sides more time to discuss the situation and to be as thorough as possible.
Another hearing was set for November 27—the current plea for Weston came with a recommended eight-year sentence.
His co-defendant Christian McKeel has already been sentenced to 11 years in prison on charges of facilitation to murder and second-degree robbery, while co-defendant Joshua Cotton is still waiting to be formally sentenced.
A jury found Cotton guilty of murder at trial in September and recommended a sentence of 45 years in prison.