The Associated Press
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — A former Charlottesville resident charged with killing six strangers between picking up rides for Uber in Michigan in 2016 pleaded guilty to murder on Monday, just before attorneys were set to interview jurors for his trial.
Jason Dalton’s surprise move came more than three years after the shootings, which occurred over the course a few hours in and around Kalamazoo. Dalton pleaded guilty to murder and attempted murder over his attorney’s objections, triggering a mandatory sentence of life in prison with no chance for parole.
“I’ve wanted to do this for quite a while,” Dalton told a judge.
Dalton grew up in Hancock County and was a student in Eastern Hancock Schools. He attended Eastern Hancock middle school and high school in the 1980s, but reportedly left Hancock County in 1986, prior to his sophomore year.
The 48-year-old Dalton answered “yes” to a series of questions on Monday, admitting that he shot eight people at three locations. Four women were killed in the parking lot of a Cracker Barrel restaurant, while a man and his 17-year-old son were fatally shot while looking at cars in a dealer’s lot.
A girl who was 14 at the time was shot in the head during the restaurant shooting but survived. Another woman was injured in a residential area.
After his arrest, police quoted Dalton as saying a “devil figure” on Uber’s app was controlling him on the day of the shootings. He was found competent to stand trial and last week dropped an insanity defense.
Defense attorney Eusebio Solis said he advised Dalton not to plead guilty. But he said his client wanted to spare families more grief during a trial.
“I’ve been practicing law for 30 years and have never pleaded to life in prison without parole,” Solis said outside court.
Dalton, the father of two children, had worked as an insurance adjuster and had no previous criminal record.
A gun shop owner said Dalton bought a jacket with an inside pocket designed to hold a gun just hours before the rampage. Shop owner Jon Southwick recalled Dalton “laughing and joking,” and giving a “one-armed hug” to the manager before making the purchase.
