Man gets 8 years for fatal shooting near Co. Springs Family Dollar

The 25-year-old man responsible for shooting an 18-year-old in the parking lot of a Colorado Springs Family Dollar pleaded guilty Wednesday and was sentenced to less than a decade in prison.

Donte Jose Maurice Mayo pleaded guilty to reckless manslaughter for the shooting of Alex E. Ainsworth. Mayo was originally charged with first-degree murder.

Ainsworth was shot near E. Boulder Street on Oct. 26, 2017, and he died at the hospital days later.

Mayo turned himself in to police in Pennsylvania shortly after the shooting.

The 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office announced Mayo’s plea Wednesday and said he was sentenced to eight years in prison. All other counts against Mayo were dismissed.

We’re working on getting more information about the plea deal and what led to the shooting.

Previous Story (Colleen Sikora, Dec. 18, 2017)

Nearly two months after his murder, family, and friends of Alex Ainsworth gathered to remember the teen who was shot and killed.

“Without Alex here, it’s empty,” Loni Wood, Alex Ainsworth’s stepmother said.

They gathered in the parking lot of the Family Dollar off E. Boulder St. Monday night holding candles and sharing fond memories.

That parking lot is where Alex Ainsworth was shot Oct. 26 He was taken to the hospital, where he died from his injuries days later.

“To know this is the last place that he was, it’s tough,” Wood said.

“It’s going to take a little while to get over this,” Mark Ainsworth, Alex Ainsworth’s father said.

“It’s just really upsetting,” Pamela Ainsworth said. “It’s heartbreaking.”

His mother, Pamela Ainsworth, keeps his memory alive through pictures.

“Everybody loved him. Big heart, would do anything for anybody, protect anybody,” Pamela Ainsworth said. “He was just a wonderful brother, a wonderful friend, just a wonderful person.”

She said the past nearly two months have been difficult.

“There are no words to express how I feel about not having Alex with me,” Pamela Ainsworth said.

Following his death, Pamela Ainsworth said talk that Alex’s upbringing was “rough” just wasn’t true.

“His grandparents, my parents stepped in and he had a good education, a good place to live, and he was loved,” Pamela Ainsworth said. “Alex was really loved.”

While one suspect in Alex’s murder, Donte Jose Mayo, turned himself into law enforcement in Pennsylvania this month, many questions remain unanswered for Pamela Ainsworth.

“I ask God every day, ‘Why Alex?'” Pamela Ainsworth said. “Because it just doesn’t seem right.”

She said she can’t think of any reason why someone would shoot her son.

“There is nobody that you can talk to that would say one bad thing about my son,” Pamela Ainsworth said.”

While holding onto her son’s precious memory, she’s also carrying his determination.

“I will not rest until I have justice for Alex,” Pamela Ainsworth said.