By JAMES MITCHELL
Sunday Times Newspapers
LINCOLN PARK — Breaking into a man’s home and exchanging gunfire resulted in a 21-year-old man being sentenced to more than a dozen years in prison.
Xavier Markese Jones was sentenced last month by Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Craig S. Strong to 13 to 20 years confinement after Jones pleaded guilty in December to assault with intent to murder. Jones was also sentenced to two years in prison for felony firearm possession.
Prosecutors said that Jones and 18-year-old Justin Acosta broke into a house in the 1400 block of Fort Park Boulevard on Nov. 7, and exchanged gunfire with the homeowner. The resident was not injured, and after he shot at the two they broke through a window and ran from the scene.
The homeowner called police, who soon located the two on nearby Howard Street. Jones and Acosta were bleeding from cuts received when they smashed through glass to exit the home. During a pat-down search police found pieces of broken window in Acosta’s clothing.
Acosta pleaded guilty on Jan. 28 to first-degree home invasion and is scheduled to be sentenced tomorrow by Judge Strong.
Jones was taken from court last month to begin his sentence. Jones was listed on the state Offender Tracking Information System as having absconded from parole in April, 2012 after previous convictions for receiving and concealing stolen property and larceny.
(James Mitchell can be reached at [email protected])