Man who killed Salvation Army worker gets life in prison

CLEVELAND – A Cleveland man who fatally shot a uniformed Salvation Army worker carrying a Bible has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for what the judge called a “senseless act of random violence.”

Twenty-seven-year-old William Jones had pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and other charges in the Dec. 2 slaying of Jared Fier-Plesec, who was shot in the head as he left his apartment complex to collect money at one of the charity’s kettles.

Jones didn’t directly address that when he spoke at his sentencing Monday. His statement referenced police killings of unarmed black people, unfair treatment of blacks in the justice system, and the value of black lives. He said: “Buried in dirt or buried behind bars — what’s the difference? We still become dead to the world.”