Columbus man sentenced to over two decades in Alabama prison

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – A Columbus man will spend the next 25 years in an Alabama prison for shooting a family member.

Eric Daniel Jennings pleaded guilty to first-degree assault in the August 2020 shooting of an Ethelsville man described as an extended family member.

The District Attorney’s office says Jennings drove from Columbus to Ethelsville intending to shoot the man.

When his truck broke down, Jennings walked the remaining two miles to the victim’s house and waited for him to leave for work.

In what 24th Judicial District District Attorney Andy Hamlin described as an ambush, Jennings shot the victim multiple times, followed him back to the house, and fired into the house until he ran out of ammunition.

Jennings pleaded guilty before Circuit Judge Sam Junkin last week.