AUGUSTA, Ga. – A young Augusta man involved in the slaying of a teen in 2018 pleaded guilty Tuesday to a reduced charge that will free him from custody.
Arquette Jones, 18, pleaded guilty in Richmond County Superior Court to concealing the death of another person. He and his cousin Nigel Robinson, 21, were arrested on murder charges in the Sept. 30, 2018, death of 17-year-old Roshawn White Jr.
Assistant District Attorney Geoffrey Alls said the plea negotiation was offered because Jones was consistent in his statements to law enforcement that Robinson was the aggressor who shot White that afternoon at the S & S Food Store on Barton Chapel Road.
The agreement calls for a five-year suspended prison term in exchange for his testimony at Robinson’s trial or Robinson’s plea. Jones will also have a five-year probation term.
According to earlier court reports in The Augusta Chronicle, White walked up to Robinson and Jones and extended his hand while they were all inside the store. Robinson pushed White up against a wall and the two struggled over control of a handgun. White was fatally shot.
Judge J. Wade Padgett accepted the negotiated plea. He declined to sentence Jones under the First Offender Act.
Robinson has pleaded not guilty to murder charges.
