Jonta Bishop waived his rights to a jury trial after pleading guilty to second degree murder, arson, abuse of a corpse and robbery. The judge sentenced Bishop to life without parole. 

James Deneen was led to a drug deal where he was shot and killed by Bishop. Bishop then put Deneen in the trunk of a car and lit it on fire.

When Deenan’s mother addressed the court she said, “Our family is forever broken.” Deneen’s father, James Deneen Sr.,  only had one question for Bishop: Why?  

Bishop showed emotion when saying he was a product of negative influences and that wishes he could do more to show he was sorry. District Attorney Bill Higgins was surprised to see a genuine response from Bishop. He said, “It was the first time throughout the whole process where he showed some remorse. So yeah, I was a little surprised and taken aback about it. Most of the times he’s been in court he’s had a real casual attitude, a real hard attitude, that he didn’t do anything wrong and that he’s innocent.”

Deneen Sr. reacted to Bishop’s words saying, “He had two years to be sincere and he waits until the day he is getting sentenced to life in prison to try and be sincere. I would have felt more better about it if he would have made that apology two years ago, after it had happened.”

Higgins said he was prepared to take this case to trial for a possible death penalty. However, that process would prolong this situation for the family and Higgins believes that this plea agreement shows that Bishop has taken responsibly for his actions and brings closure for the family.

The district attorney explained, “He decided to enter a guilty plea. Because he entered a guilty plea, it accepted responsibility for his involvement. We were able to give the family the closure that comes with that. This avoids the endless appeals and the uncertainty. The family now has closure, justice was served. Jonta Bishop will spend the rest of his life in prison and that really was our goal from the outset.”