The shadow of a tragic event lingers nearly a decade later as a family grapples with a justice system they feel has let them down. Colin Brough, a 20-year-old Northern Arizona University student, lost his life in 2015 after a confrontation escalated into gunfire on campus. Steven Jones, the fellow student who fired the shots, was released from the Arizona Department of Corrections this week, an outcome that has reopened wounds for Brough's relatives.
In an interview with ABC15, Andrea Jernegan, Brough's aunt, expressed her dismay at the system's handling of the case. "It’s not fair," she said, "that after serving four and a half years the kid is walking the streets free as a bird." Jernegan has been closely monitoring Jones' prison record, aware of his impending release date. Jones, now 27, was sentenced in 2020 to six years after a plea agreement to manslaughter and aggravated assault charges, but with time served awaiting trial, his imprisonment was significantly reduced.
The initial trial for Jones in 2017 on first-degree murder charges resulted in a hung jury. Had he been convicted, the sentence would have been markedly more severe – a minimum of 25 years. The relentless passage of time brings no solace to Jernegan as she lamented the ongoing hurt and the "emptiness without Colin there," as she described in the interview with ABC15 investigators.
