THOMASVILLE- Following an appeal from Xavier R. Jones for his conviction of felony murder in the shooting death of Christopher Crumbry, the Supreme Court of Georgia voted to uphold the murder conviction, but vacated an aggravated assault conviction against him.

Jones, who was 17-years-old at the time of the shooting, was charged with murder and armed robbery along with two other suspects after being accused of shooting and killing 15-year-old Crumbry in July 2010. He was later sentenced to life plus 20 years, according to court documents.

The court affirmed Jones’ convictions for felony murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, but vacated his conviction for aggravated assault “as it should have merged into his felony murder conviction,” per court records.

The decision to vacate the conviction for aggravated assault means Jones must still serve his life sentence, but no longer faces the additional 20 years in prison.

According to evidence shown at trial, Jones, along with his co-defendants, Jalen Rauls and Dezmond Lovejoy, was attending a gathering in a Thomasville neighborhood when they spotted Crumbry.

Crumbry was reportedly seen with a bag of marijuana that he was bagging into smaller bags. Upon seeing Crumbry, Jones told Rauls and Lovejoy that he wanted to steal Crumbry’s marijuana.

Lovejoy and Rauls both testified that they agreed to Jones’ plan to rob Crumbry of his marijuana at gunpoint that night. However, Lovejoy and Rauls both affirmed they carried unloaded firearms and had no intention of shooting or killing Crumbry.

During their testimony, Lovejoy and Rauls recalled the night of the shooting, stating that at approximately 11 p.m., Crumbry was walking along a sidewalk when they ran into him. At the time, Jones was crouched in the tall grass of an adjacent empty lot, trying to conceal himself.

Jones then approached the lot where Lovejoy, Rauls and Crumbry were located and shot Crumbry three times.

Three additional witnesses saw the shooting, one of whom knew Jones and identified him as the shooter.

Rauls and Lovejoy both testified that Crumbry never shot, although Lovejoy did see Crumbry reach in his pants pocket for something.

Following the shooting, Jones was reported to have approached Crumbry and kicked him to see if he was responsive. He then reached into Crumbry’s pocket and took the marijuana.

“The evidence of Jones’ guilt was substantial,” the ruling said. “Multiple witnesses saw Jones shoot Crumbry, and Jones himself admitted the shooting to his co-defendants.”

The Georgia Supreme Court rejected all of Jones’ claims on appeal, including claims that a judge should have declared a mistrial after playing a video of his interview with police. Court documents show in the video, Jones declined to answer several questions, resulting in investigators saying his “silence and refusal to explain his actions make him appear to be guilty or even “like a stone cold killer.”