A Washington, D.C., police officer pleaded guilty Monday to second-degree murder in connection with the fatal shooting of a Temple Hills man who was killed during a botched robbery attempt in December.

Reginald Jones, 41, an Upper Marlboro resident and six-year veteran of the Metropolitan Police Department, pleaded guilty before District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Michael L. Rankin on charges of second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit robbery, according to Superior Court records.

He is scheduled for a status hearing on Feb. 4 and could face life in prison on the second-degree murder charge and up to 15 years in prison on the robbery charge, according to Bill Miller, a spokesman for the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, which is prosecuting the case. No sentencing date has been set.

Jones' attorney, Brian K. McDaniel, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Jones and four other men were arrested in connection with the Dec. 1 fatal shooting of 40-year-old Arvel Stewart Alston. According to police reports, Alston and the five men were believed to have been carrying out an armed robbery in Southeast Washington, D.C., when Alston was accidentally shot.

One of the suspects, Rashun Parker, 27, of Camp Springs, pleaded guilty Dec. 23 to second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit armed robbery.

The other three men — Lynn Daniel Wilkerson, 33, of Hyattsville; Jarvis Clark, 19, of Temple Hills; and Arvel Crawford, 19, a District resident and Alston's son — are due in court Thursday for a status hearing.

According to charging documents, Alston and the five suspects were involved in a conspiracy to rob another man the night of Dec. 1.

During a hearing in January, a District homicide detective testified that Parker told police that Wilkerson and Jones were sitting in Jones' squad car during the robbery, serving as lookouts.

According to charging documents, when the robbery victim tried to fight back, Crawford fired a gun and accidentally shot his father, Alston, in the side. The robbery victim was also shot but survived. The rest of the men allegedly fled the scene, according to police.

Jones was arrested and charged Dec. 15. He has been placed on unpaid, indefinite suspension from his job as an officer in the Narcotics and Special Investigations Division, according to department spokeswoman Gwendolyn Crump.

ztillman@gazette.net

Correction: A previous version of this story misstated Jones's sentencing date.