Man sentenced to 15 years in jail for California University party killing

WASHINGTON, Pa.,None — A Monessen man who pleaded guilty to the fatal shooting of a Pittsburgh teenager at a party near California University of Pennsylvania last year was sentenced to a minimum of 15 years in jail on Monday.

Jeron Grayson, who was not a student at the university, was shot in an apartment building at a party following the school's homecoming football game last year.

In September, Keith Jones pleaded guilty to third-degree murder charges in Grayson's death.

Grayson's father Glenn asked the judge for the maximum sentence.

"To receive 15 years, where at age 34 he can walk out and have a full life, is very heart-wrenching and overwhelming to my family," Glenn Grayson said.
   
After being denied entry to the party, police said, Jones fired multiple shots with a .38-caliber revolver inside the off-campus apartment, then sprayed the building with bullets. According to police, 50 to 100 people were inside at the time.

During sentencing Jones told the judge, "It kills me to know I took someone's life. I'm not asking for you for forgive me and I am not asking for you to feel sorry for me. I pray every night for the family."

Grayson had recently graduated from Schenley High School and was enrolled at Hampton University in Virginia when he was killed.

Glenn Grayson and his family are using the tragedy to take a stand against gun violence. They've helped build a community center in Pittsburgh to help troubled kids.

"Guns kill, bullets take lives and that's the bottom line," Grayson said. "There are too many illegal guns."

WPXI