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Man Pleads Guilty In Michigan Medical Student's Death

ANN ARBOR (WWJ/AP) - A 21-year-old man has pleaded guilty in the shooting death of a University of Michigan medical student, who was found dead last summer in an off-campus fraternity house.

In addition to pleading to second-degree murder Friday in Washtenaw County Trial Court, Shaquille Jones also provided Paul DeWolf's family with a firsthand account of how the young man was killed.

Jones said he and two other men came to Ann Arbor to break into houses, including the one that contained DeWolf's apartment. He said DeWolf grabbed for a gun held by one of the men. After a struggle, Jones said, the gun went off.

Jones has agreed to give evidence in the trial against a second suspect, 20-year-old Joei Jordan.

DeWolf's father, Thom, said that hearing how his son died was more difficult than he expected it to be.

"There was a lot of anger, but it was also a lot of questioning, you know, why did this have to happen," he told WWJ's Sandra McNeil. "Why did you guys have to break in? And it was just the whole concept of it was such a stupid thing to be out doing this. Why did you have to be out roaming streets, looking for easy targets, easy prey, to steal from other people?"

Jones faces a minimum of 18 years in prison.

Meantime, Jordan, also of South Carolina, faces the same open murder charge as Jones. A third man allegedly involved, 21-year-old Dajeon Franklin, is currently serving a sentence on another home invasion. He has yet to be charged in the case.

DeWolf, a 25-year-old Schoolcraft native, was attending Michigan on an Air Force scholarship. A 2010 graduate of Grand Valley State University, he was set graduate from the medical school next spring.

TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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