RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) Today in court Jamal Clemons pleaded guilty to two counts of murder in the first-degree for the crime spree that occurred on Christmas Eve, confirmed the prosecutor.
Clemons, 27, originally stood accused of a double homicide, abduction and fire-arm charges.
On Monday, a judge said he would not toss out the confession that Clemons made after cooperating with police in exchange for Lee's Chicken. Defense attorneys said that the police interrogators used food to coerce the confession.
Court documents show that Clemons told officers he wouldn’t tell them about the crime spree until they got him Lee’s Chicken to eat.
Clemons was charged after Edward Lee Bowmer Jr., 60, and Robin Sheryl Clapp, 56, were found shot dead inside Bowmer's home in the 800 block of North 35th Street on Christmas Eve.
He was also originally charged with abduction, as authorities said Clemons fled the crime scene in an SUV with 2-year-old Kaiden Burnside inside. Police later found the boy inside the stolen SUV, unharmed at a nearby cemetery.
The prosecutor said that Clemons pleaded guilty to the first-degree murder charges in exchange for having the three robbery counts and five firearm charges dropped.
Police said Clemons was trying to rob the victims at the time of the shooting. Court documents showed that Clemons told investigators he was drunk on "black gin" and had smoked crack before he killed Clapp and Bowmer.
Clemons told police he wanted to steal money and that he was so eager to get some that he snapped and shot Clapp in the face.
Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 27, in the afternoon. Clemons could face 40 years to life in prison.
