Colbert man pleads guilty to manslaughter

A Colbert County man accused of killing a Tharptown resident in August of 2009 pleaded guilty to manslaughter on Tuesday.
Bobby Ray Jones, 51, formerly of Alabama 72 in Tuscumbia, entered an open plea to manslaughter for his involvement in the shooting death of 32-year-old Mitchell Robbins, Franklin County District Attorney Joey Rushing said.
According to Rushing, an open plea leaves full discretion of Jones’ sentence to Franklin County Circuit Judge Terry Dempsey.
“An open plea is the same as if the case had went to trial and a jury had found Jones guilty of manslaughter,” Rushing said.
“Judge Dempsey has ordered a pre-sentence investigation and will make a decision on Jones’ sentence in March.”
Jones is accused of shooting Robbins in the mid-section with a sawed-off shotgun on Aug. 22, 2009.
Jones initially told authorities Robbins had committed suicide while he stood nearby, but forensic evidence prompted authorities to charge Jones with murder five days after the incident occurred.
According to authorities, Jones was highly intoxicated when the shooting took place and wasn’t even able to be interviewed until the following day.
“I spoke with the victim’s family about our different options,” Rushing said. “Based on some of the factors at the scene and the highly intoxicated state of Mr. Jones at the time the shooting occurred, we agreed that the manslaughter plea would be appropriate in this case.
“Anytime when you are able to reach an agreement in a case like this where the victim’s family is comfortable with the plea, I feel satisfied with the result.”
The trials for the three other co-defendants in this case are still pending.
Bobby Joe Johnson, 76, was also charged with murder in this case while J.C. Borden, 56, and Johnny Borden, 23, were both charged with first-degree hindering of prosecution.
Jones will remain in custody until his sentencing hearing on March 22.