ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A 20-year-old man pleaded guilty in Albany County Court on Friday in connection with the 2023 murder of Javone Sims. The Albany County District Attorney's Office said Eric Chapman Jr. admitted to shooting and killing Sims in the backyard of a Third Street home on June 22, 2023.

The DA's office said a jury trial was set to begin on October 27, but Chapman made an "11th-hour decision" and accepted the offered plea deal. Chapman was arrested on October 5, 2023, leading police on a foot pursuit near Clinton Avenue and Judson Street and tossing a handgun in the woods that was later linked to him through DNA testing.

Chapman is expected to receive a 20-year-to-life sentence on January 8, which will run concurrently with two other second-degree criminal possession of a

See Full Page