INDIANAPOLIS — Eddie Pernell Jones was sentenced to 50 years Friday morning in Hendricks County court after pleading guilty to charges stemming from the death of Indiana State Police Trooper Aaron Smith.
Jones, 20, of Sikeston, Missouri, will serve 40 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections followed by 10 years of probation.
He pleaded guilty in November to resisting law enforcement causing death, attempted aggravated battery and attempted battery with a deadly weapon. The murder charge was dropped as part of the plea agreement.
The sentencing comes two and a half years after the June 28, 2023, incident that killed Trooper Smith on Ronald Reagan Parkway near Interstate 70.
Smith, a 5-year veteran of the Indiana State Police, was attempting to deploy stop sticks to end a police pursuit when Jones' stolen 2016 Chevrolet Traverse struck and killed him.
The chase began when ISP troopers spotted the stolen vehicle in the 4900 block of Kentucky Avenue in Indianapolis. Jones, who was 18 at the time, fled when officers tried to stop the car.
Jones was arrested at the scene. DeMareon L. Curry, 19, who was also in the car, received more than two years in prison for resisting law enforcement.
Smith was rushed to Eskenazi Hospital in critical condition but died from his injuries.
Court officials have not released information about the potential sentence Jones faces for the charges.
The sentencing hearing is scheduled for this morning in Hendricks County court.
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