Charlottesville Man Sentenced for August 2015 Road Rage Incident - NBC29 WVIR Charlottesville, VA News, Sports and Weather

A Charlottesville man has been sentenced to 6.5 years behind bars for an August 2015 shooting at the corner of Preston Road and McIntire Road.

Tahjai Jones was joined by his parents, siblings, friends, and mentors in the courtroom Monday. He addressed the group, thanking everyone for coming and acknowledging that he "messed up."

In February, Jones pleaded guilty to the five charges that include attempted malicious wounding and felon in possession of a firearm.

Police say Jones and another man, Travon Cooper, are responsible for a road rage fueled shooting that happened last August.

According to police, Jones and Cooper fired several gunshots at a car after it made a U-turn in front of them on McIntire Road. Four bullets hit the car and one hit a house, but no one was injured.

"This is a very difficult case for everyone involved, especially when there is such a young individual who has a lot of promise. But, when you have such a violent event here in the city of Charlottesville, we can't tolerate behavior like this here in Charlottesville. This was road rage gone ballistic," said Nina-Alice Antony, Charlottesville assistant commonwealth’s attorney.

The defense called three witnesses to the stand - Jones' mother and father and Charlottesville Vice Mayor Wes Bellamy.

Each of these witnesses talked about Jones' incredible potential. They said Jones made mistakes in his past, but that he owned up to them.

Jones is hopeful to take classes at either Charlottesville Albemarle Technical Education Center or Piedmont Virginia Community College once he's released.