The defendants in an upcoming murder case have been reduced from nine to one since the charges were filed in January.

A guilty plea was entered by Demario Q. Sanders Aug. 30 in the murder case of Joshua Oshea Smith. Sanders was originally charged with felony murder but pled guilty to the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter.

The defendant was sentenced to 180 days in the Jones County Law Enforcement Center with the remainder of his 10-year sentence to be served on probation. He had been incarcerated since his arrest in February and was given credit for time served.

Sanders allegedly supplied the gun used in the Jan. 3 shooting of the 22-year-old victim who later died of the gunshot wound. Smith was shot during a fight, which began when 10 people arrived at his home with the intention of ‘beating up’ Tommy Cornelius who also lived at the residence.

Smith intervened in the fight and was shot. The Expedition containing the 10 suspects was stopped by a Jones County deputy shortly after the shooting was reported. Eight of the vehicle’s occupants were taken into custody and charged with aggravated assault, but when Smith died later that same morning, the charges escalated to murder. The weapon used in the shooting was recovered from the vehicle.

Sanders is the only suspect charged in the murder case who was not an occupant of the Expedition. During a bond hearing for Sanders in April, Assistant District Attorney Keagan Goodrich explained that the charge against Sanders stemmed from his purchase of the gun used in the crime.

Goodrich said Sanders sold the gun to Darian Bryant knowing that Bryant had been arrested and pled guilty to previous shootings and that the gun was illegally obtained and sold.

Bryant was arrested on murder charges in January and was indicted in February for malice murder, two counts of felony murder, and the use of a firearm by a felon.

The alleged shooter will be the lone defendant when the murder trial begins. The trial was expected to begin the last week of August but was granted a continuance at the request of the defense.

Sanders joins the seven other murder suspects in the case in pleading to the lesser offense of voluntary manslaughter. Codefendants Sidney Sapp, Alonzo Sapp, Areon Outlaw, and Naomi Johnson entered guilty pleas July 30. Navon C. Johnson pled guilty to manslaughter July 12, and Devondra Williams June 15. Asialeena Sapp entered her guilty plea Aug. 2. Their sentences vary depending on the defendants’ participation in the crime.

Naomi Johnson received 20 years for her involvement in the murder with 10 years to serve in confinement. Johnson’s prison time is the most lengthy so far in the case. The 33-year-old was the alleged driver of the Expedition.

Outlaw was sentenced to 20 years with five to serve in confinement. The teenager was not charged with the others the night of the crime because he was wounded with the same bullet that killed Smith and was taken to the Medical Center for treatment. Alonzo Sapp was also sentenced to 20 years with five to serve.

Sidney Sapp received 10 years with 265 days to serve in a state detention center. Navon Johnson received a sentence of eight years probation, and Williams was sentenced to 10 years with the first year to serve in the state detention center.

Asialeena Sapp, whose relationship with Cornelius was the motivation for January’s fatal visit, was sentenced to 20 years with four to serve.