A Prescott woman, Shannon Jackson, has been arrested and booked by Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office investigators for second degree murder for the shooting on December 27, 2021, of Sterling Wade Peters in the Ponderosa Park area of Prescott.
According to the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office (YCSO), the incident stemmed from a domestic dispute whereby YCSO was contacted by a neighbor who called 911 saying that Peters had been shot during an altercation.
Jackson stated to YCSO detectives that during the argument, she had retrieved a .357 Magnum revolver off the floor of the house and fired two shots at Peter, one which struck him in the side and the other in the chest. Though Jackson had originally claimed she shot Peters in self-defense, YCSO detectives determined that, the physical evidence and after numerous interviews, self-defense was not consistent with or justified in this event and should more properly be categorized as a second-degree murder offense.
“The detectives in this case did an exemplary job in their investigation,” said Sheriff David Rhodes. “Though a crime may seem to lean one way, it is only the experience of our Criminal Investigation Bureau in letting the evidence lead them in the right direction that results in substantiated charges being filed.”
Second degree murder conviction carries anywhere from a 10 to 25-year sentence.