KALAMAZOO, MI — The man accused of killing six people and critically injuring two in a shooting spree across Kalamazoo County in February 2016 has pleaded guilty to all counts against him.

Jason Dalton, 48, pleaded guilty Monday, Jan. 7, to six counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder and several felony firearms charges for the Feb. 20, 2016, shooting rampage. Dalton pleaded guilty just before the prosecutor and defense attorney were supposed to start voir dire, the process of questioning 112 potential jurors for the case. Jury selection started in a closed courtroom Thursday, Jan. 3.

Dalton entered the pleas in a low voice in a silent courtroom packed with about 50 family members and friends of the victims, including survivor Tiana Carruthers.

There was no sentencing agreement tied to Dalton’s guilty pleas, according to Kalamazoo County Assistant Prosecutor Jeff Williams. Dalton faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison for each of the first-degree murder convictions.

Jason Dalton trial starts nearly 3 years after Kalamazoo mass shooting Jury selection starts Jan. 3 for the trial, which could take up to two weeks.

Kalamazoo County Circuit Court Judge Alexander C. Lipsey denied bond. Dalton is scheduled for sentencing on the convictions Feb. 5.

Defense attorney Eusebio Solis said discussions of pleading guilty in the case have been taking place for months. Solis withdrew an earlier motion to pursue an insanity defense, explaining an independent forensic examination showed Dalton did not meet the legal requirements for insanity.

Solis said he spent more than an hour over the weekend talking with Dalton about the decision.

“He is doing that against my advice, your honor,” Solis said. “But, in speaking to Mr. Dalton, there are reasons for that. There are personal reasons, for him. He does not want to put his family through that, or the victims' families, through the trial. It’s his decision; against my advice.”

Standing next to his attorney at the judge’s bench, Dalton told Lipsey his pleas were being offered voluntarily.

“Yes. I’ve wanted this for quite a while,” he said.

Solis acknowledged, given the charges Dalton was facing, that a guilty plea at this stage was rather unusual.

“I’ve been practicing law for 30 years and have never pleaded to life in prison without parole," Solis said after the hearing.

The case had been on hold for nearly three years as it wound its way through appellate courts.

In an interview with detectives, Dalton said the Uber app “literally took over his mind and body” on Feb. 20 when the color of the app’s symbol changed from red to black. Dalton told the detectives the app symbol changed colors when he spoke the name of the Eastern Star symbol.

Dalton’s trial has been delayed as his defense attorneys argued detectives violated his Miranda rights in interviews the day after the shooting. Ultimately, the Michigan Court of Appeals decided the interviews will not be allowed at trial.

Dalton shot Tiana Carruthers, 25, in the parking lot of the Meadows town home complex, 5066 Meadows Blvd,, just before 6 p.m. on Feb. 20, 2016. Dalton shot and killed father and son Rich, 53, and Tyler Smith, 17, in the parking lot of Seelye Kia on Stadium Drive just after 10 p.m. that same evening. He then shot four women and a 14-year-old girl in the parking lot of Cracker Barrel, 5581 S. 9th St. in Texas Township.

Mary Lou Nye, 62, of Baroda; Mary Jo Nye, 60, Dorothy “Judy” Brown, 74, and Barbara Hawthorne, 68, all of Battle Creek, were killed and the 14-year-old girl, Abigail Kopf, survived but was critically injured.

Dalton drove erratically that afternoon, picking up Uber fares between the shootings.</s>KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) — The man who shot and killed six people and seriously injured two others in and around Kalamazoo has pleaded guilty to the murders.

In a surprise development Monday, Jason Dalton cut short jury selection by agreeing to plead guilty to all six counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder and eight counts of felony use of a firearm that he faced.

FORGOING A TRIAL

Dalton’s attorney, Eusebio Solis, said Dalton decided to plead guilty against his advice to spare survivors the grief of reliving terrible moments during the trial.

“It took me a little by surprise ’cause throughout our discussions he was intent on going to trial,” said Solis. “Though I think he was influenced these last few days by his family. He didn’t want to put his family through it as well as the family of the victims.”

The plea comes a few days after Dalton’s defense attorney said he would not be pursing an insanity defense.

“Well, I thought he was on the same page until this very morning, when in court the prosecution said, ‘We make no offers, but he can plea,'” said Solis. “I said, ‘We’ve considered that several times and rejected it.’ And he wanted to have discussions in private with me.”

Solis said he and his client had been discussing a possible plea for months.

Dalton was relatively quiet in court Monday, speaking only when asked questions.

“I’ve wanted to do this for quite a while,” he told the court when asked if he understood what he was pleading to and whether he was doing so voluntarily.

>>App users: Watch Dalton plead guilty here.

Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting said he wasn’t betting on a guilty plea by Dalton, but he wasn’t shocked, either.

Getting said he was ready to present 130 pieces of evidence during the two-week trial that will never be.

“In a perfect world, it would have been nice to get this thing done sooner rather than later. But the reality is that I’m relieved … we were able to reach this resolution without there having to be a trial,” Getting said. “This is our best-case outcome. This is what’s best for the case and it’s certainly what’s best for our victims.”

He said this twist before trial is rare occurrence.

“It’s unusual for a person to plead guilty to first-degree premeditated murder because the consequence is mandatory. It’s life in prison without the possibility of parole, and we don’t typically see that happen. (Assistant Prosecutor Jeff Williams) and I were talking about it and we’re aware of only a couple of instances ever in this community where a plea has been made to first-degree murder,” he said.

THE CRIMES

On Feb. 20, 2016, Dalton shot eight people at three locations over the course of about five hours. The shootings started just before 6 p.m., when Dalton repeatedly shot Tiana Carruthers, then 25, near her Richland Township home as she shielded children and others from the gunfire. She was seriously injured, but survived.

Over about the next four hours, Dalton picked up fares in his capacity as an Uber driver, though none of them were hurt.

Shortly after 10 p.m., Dalton fatally shot father and son Rich and Tyler Smith as they checked out a vehicle at Seelye Auto Group on Stadium Drive in Kalamazoo. Tyler Smith’s girlfriend escaped the gunman’s notice by hiding in the car.

Mary Lou Nye, Mary Jo Nye, Judy Brown and Barbara Hawthorne were killed in the parking lot of the Texas Township Cracker Barrel as they returned to their vehicles after catching a show at the Miller Auditorium.

Before her death, Hawthorne insisted medical crews first work on 14-year-old Abigail Kopf, who had been shot in the head. The teenager nearly died, but pulled through.

>>Complete coverage of the Kalamazoo shooting rampage

SURVIVORS: ‘A BIG UNFORTUNATE FAMILY’

The courtroom was packed Monday, with the left side of the room reserved for victims and their families. Among them was Carruthers, relatives of the Smiths and the owner of the dealership where the father and son died.

The survivors could be seen tearfully holding hands as the judge read each victim’s name so Dalton could plead guilty to each charge. When the judge read Carruthers’ name, she cried.

“I was surprised to see so much turnout. I haven’t been in direct contact with everybody, but to know that there was still such a big unfortunate family like this surprised me. It made me feel a little good that everybody was willing to reach out to people that they didn’t really even know. I knew the person sitting on my left but I did not know the person on my right, but they both treated me like I was part of their families,” Bart Nye, the son of Mary Lou Nye, said.

Notably absent from the proceedings was Kopf, whose family found relief from Dalton’s plea.

“You do not understand the relief I feel,” said her mom. “Abbie can go to sleep tonight knowing there’s no way he can get to her. Because that’s what she’s been afraid of.”

In thanking the victims and families for their patience during the Dalton case, Getting also called attention to a survivor he said sometimes goes unmentioned: Tyler Smith’s girlfriend, Alexis Cornish.

“She was there when Tyler and his dad were killed,” he recounted. “What this young woman went through that night, watching her boyfriend and his father get shot again and again and again and cowering in the back seat of a car wondering how many seconds you have left in your life, and then to be able to have this presence of mind to leave your car and get a phone out of Tyler’s pocket and call 911 to report what had happened was just so extraordinarily brave.”

>>App users: Watch Getting’s response here.

In a statement released Monday afternoon by their attorneys, Dalton’s family offered their condolences to the victims and prayers to Kopf and Carruthers.

“Nothing that we can say is adequate, but please know that our hearts are broken by the suffering which has resulted from the actions of our son and former husband,” the statement reads in part.

It went on to thank the first responders who responded to the shooting scenes and authorities who handled the case, and acknowledged the “love and kindness” shown to the victims by the community.

“We live in a community which has responded to this and other recent tragedies with remarkable grace and strength,” the statement ended.

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

The Dalton who the court witnessed Monday was very different from the man who was dragged out of court during his preliminary hearing, when Dalton moved toward Carruthers as she testified.

“He was under a great deal of stress. I honestly don’t know what caused that outburst. And that really is the only time he’s ‘misbehaved’ in the courtroom,” Solis said of the May 2016 incident.

On Monday, a more subdued Dalton listened as the judge read each count against him, answering only to plead guilty.

“The public has only seen him in the courtroom when the pressure is on him, and obviously people react differently when they’re under pressure,” Dalton’s defense attorney said. “But I can tell you in private that he has been remorseful during several of my meetings with him.”

Following the crimes, Dalton told investigators that he had been possessed by his Uber app and that it told him who to shoot — a confession an appeals court ruled couldn’t be used at trial because Dalton had told police he didn’t want to talk and asked for a lawyer.

Prosecutor Getting said he’s not sure if there will ever be a “satisfactory” answer as to why Dalton did it.

“The why question is one that haunts us. You know, everybody wants to know,” said Getting. “I don’t know if he will ever say why.”

In a Facebook post Monday afternoon, Carruthers said she was grateful she would not have to “relive the horrors of you gunning me down in trial.”

“But,” she continued, “you at least owe everyone a reason why you committed this (heinous) crime? This isn’t closure, not even close.”



Dalton could provide closure when he gets a chance to speak during his sentencing on Feb. 5.

He faces a mandatory term of life in prison without parole, which will begin after he spends as long as 16 years in prison for the eight felony firearm charges.

Getting said the survivors and victims’ families will also have a chance to address the killer during the sentencing.

—24 Hour News 8’s Heather Walker and Evan Dean contributed to this report.

LEGAL CONSEQUENCES OF PLEA

Dalton’s guilty plea is unusual because there was no deal on the table. He had nothing to lose by making prosecutors prove their case. The prosecution made it clear from the beginning that it would not offer a plea bargain for lesser charges. That means that even if Dalton had gone to trial and was convicted, the result would have been the same as pleading guilty.

The difference is the appeals process. During a trial, a judge has to make many legal decisions, all of which Dalton could have appealed. He gave up those appeals with his plea.

However, Dalton could still attack his guilty plea. Under the law, a judge has to confirm certain details before a defendant can plead guilty. For example, Dalton had to be advised he was giving up certain constitutional rights — to a trial, to testify, to confront witnesses — and he had to acknowledge there were facts that justified his guilty plea. If that’s not done properly, a defendant can challenge a guilty plea and ask that it be withdrawn.

However, the court in this case appeared to do everything correctly.

—24 Hour News 8’s Brady Gillum, a former prosecutor and criminal defense attorney, contributed.</s>KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) — A man charged with killing six strangers between picking up rides for Uber has pleaded guilty to murder in southwestern Michigan.

Jason Dalton's surprise guilty pleas occurred as lawyers and a judge planned to pick a jury Monday in Kalamazoo County court.

Dalton was charged with murder and attempted murder. He admits shooting eight people in three locations in the Kalamazoo area in 2016.

After Dalton's arrest, police quoted him as saying a "devil figure" on Uber's app was controlling him on the day of the shootings.</s>KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) - A Michigan man charged with killing six strangers between picking up rides for Uber 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 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.

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.

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.

FILE - In this April 20, 2017 file photo, defendant Jason Dalton, left, who is charged with killing six people in-between picking up riders for Uber, stands with attorney Eusebio Solis during a hearing in Kalamazoo, Mich. Jury selection will begin on Jan. 3, 2019 after a prosecutor said he won't appeal a decision that keeps a lid on parts of a police interview. Kalamazoo County prosecutor Jeff Getting says it's time to bring the "matter to trial without further delay." The shootings occurred more than two years ago. (Mark Bugnaski/Kalamazoo Gazette-MLive Media Group via AP, File)

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

FILE - In this Sunday, Feb. 21, 2016 file photo, police tape surrounds the area of a random shooting in Kalamazoo, Mich. The jury selection process is starting Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019, in southwestern Michigan in the fatal shootings of six people nearly three years ago. Jason Dalton is charged with murder and attempted murder for the 2016 random killings in the Kalamazoo area while he was driving around for Uber. (AP Photo/Jeff Karoub, File)</s>KALAMAZOO, Mich. — A man charged with killing six strangers between picking up rides for Uber pleaded guilty to murder on Monday in Michigan.

Jason Dalton's surprise move occurred as lawyers and a judge planned to pick a jury in Kalamazoo County court. There was no deal for Dalton: He pleaded guilty to murder and attempted murder, and he faces 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.

He answered "yes" to a series of questions, admitting that he shot eight people at three locations in the Kalamazoo area in 2016. Four women, a man and a 17-year-old boy were killed.

After Dalton's arrest, police quoted him 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.</s>KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) - A man charged with killing six strangers between picking up rides for Uber pleaded guilty to murder on Monday in Michigan.

Jason Dalton's surprise move occurred as lawyers and a judge planned to pick a jury in Kalamazoo County court. There was no deal for Dalton: He pleaded guilty to murder and attempted murder, and he faces 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.

He answered "yes" to a series of questions, admitting that he shot eight people at three locations in the Kalamazoo area in 2016. Four women, a man and a 17-year-old boy were killed.

After Dalton's arrest, police quoted him 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.

FILE - In this April 20, 2017 file photo, defendant Jason Dalton, left, who is charged with killing six people in-between picking up riders for Uber, stands with attorney Eusebio Solis during a hearing in Kalamazoo, Mich. Jury selection will begin on Jan. 3, 2019 after a prosecutor said he won't appeal a decision that keeps a lid on parts of a police interview. Kalamazoo County prosecutor Jeff Getting says it's time to bring the "matter to trial without further delay." The shootings occurred more than two years ago. (Mark Bugnaski/Kalamazoo Gazette-MLive Media Group via AP, File)

FILE - In this Sunday, Feb. 21, 2016 file photo, police tape surrounds the area of a random shooting in Kalamazoo, Mich. The jury selection process is starting Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019, in southwestern Michigan in the fatal shootings of six people nearly three years ago. Jason Dalton is charged with murder and attempted murder for the 2016 random killings in the Kalamazoo area while he was driving around for Uber. (AP Photo/Jeff Karoub, File)</s>KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The man charged with killing six strangers in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 2016 has decided to plead guilty to all charges.

Jason Dalton was charged with murder and attempted murder. He’s accused of shooting eight people in three locations in the Kalamazoo area in 2016, in between picking up riders for Uber.

He's also charged with two counts of attempted murder in two other shootings that seriously injured Tiana Carruthers and Abigail Kopf. Dalton also faces eight counts of felony use of a firearm.

Dalton appeared in court Monday morning where it was announced he'd be changing his plea to guilty. There is no sentencing agreement.

Prospective jurors reported to court last Thursday. Selection was scheduled to continue Monday, but was put on hold Monday morning following news of the plea. The trial was expected to start this week.

After Dalton’s arrest in 2016, police quoted him as saying a “devil figure” on Uber’s app was controlling him on the day of the shootings. Dalton had been found competent to stand trial.

More: Kalamazoo deadly shootings: a timeline of what happened

Copyright 2019 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</s>KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The man accused of killing six people in a shooting spree in Kalamazoo County in 2016 has pleaded guilty.

Jason Dalton was in court Monday morning, just a day ahead of his trial for the murder of six people and wounding of two others in a shooting rampage in February 2016.

Monday was to be the second day of jury selection for Dalton's trial, which was expected to last weeks.

On Friday, Dalton's attorney withdrew a motion filed in 2016 that would have allowed Dalton to use insanity as a defense.

Dalton was accused of killing six people and injuring two others in a shooting spree while picking up rides for Uber on Feb. 20, 2016. The trial was delayed several times while Dalton’s attorney tried to suppress some statements he made to police. Michigan’s appeals court has agreed some can’t be used.

Richard Smith, 53, and his son Tyler, 17, were killed at a car dealership by Dalton. Later that night, Mary Jo Nye, 60, Mary Lou Nye, 62, Dorothy Brown, 74, and Barbara Hawthorne, 68, were all killed in the parking lot of the Cracker Barrel restaurant. Abby Kopf, 14, was critically wounded at that scene as well and has undergone numerous surgeries. Tianna Carruthers suffered four gunshot wounds earlier in the day and has recovered.

Dalton has been in custody since the night of the shootings and has undergone mental evaluations. In May 2016, during a pretrial hearing, Dalton was removed from the courtroom after interrupting Carruthers' testimony. He had to be restrained and hauled from the courtroom by court deputies.

Dalton will be sentenced on February 5 at 10:00 a.m. Bond was denied.

Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting is expected to hold a press conference at 1:30 p.m. on Monday. We'll have that live online and on FOX 17 Facebook.

We'll have more from court on later editions of FOX 17 News.</s>KALAMAZOO - Jason Dalton, who was charged in the deaths of six people following a shooting rampage across Kalamazoo County, pleaded guilty to all charges Monday.

Dalton, 48, of Kalamazoo, is accused of killing six people and critically injuring two more on Feb. 20, 2016, in a shooting rampage at three locations in Kalamazoo County.

The shootings outside a Texas Township Cracker Barrel restaurant caused the deaths of three Battle Creek women — Mary Jo Nye, 60, Barbara Hawthorne, 68, and Judy Brown, 74. Mary Lou Nye, 62, of Baroda also was shot to death there, and Abigail Kopf, then 14, of Battle Creek was wounded.

Richard Smith, 53, and his son Tyler, 17, of Mattawan were killed at a Stadium Drive auto dealership, and Tiana Carruthers, then 25, was wounded at her Richland Township apartment complex.

An Uber driver, Dalton was arrested by police at about 12:45 a.m. that Sunday morning in downtown Kalamazoo.

Dalton will be sentenced on Feb. 5.

Story will updated throughout the day.

More: Kalamazoo shooting: Recapping the entire case before Jason Dalton's murder trial

Contact Trace Christenson at 269-966-0685 or tchrist@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on Twitter: @TSChristenson</s>Victim family members react as Jason Dalton pleads guilty to six counts of murder and several other charges at the Kalamazoo County Courthouse on Monday, Jan. 7, 2019 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Dalton, who was driving for Uber at the time shot eight people killing six of them, on Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016. Opening statements in the trial were scheduled to begin Tuesday, Jan. 8. (Joel Bissell | MLive.com)

KALAMAZOO, MI -- Family members of the six people killed and two critically injured in a shooting rampage across Kalamazoo County Feb. 20, 2016, thought they would have to endure a trial this week showing the violent deaths of their loved ones.

Instead, they were rushed into a courtroom Monday morning, Jan. 7, to watch the killer enter a guilty plea, ensuring he will spend the rest of his life in prison.

"I've wanted this for quite a while," Jason Brian Dalton, 48, said in pleading guilty.
Jason Dalton, the suspect in six murders and two attempted murders during a rampage in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States in February 2016, pleads guilty to all counts.