VAN BUREN, Ark. (AP) – A Crawford County resident has been sentenced to 17 years in prison after jurors convicted him of second-degree murder in the shotgun slaying of a man.
Jurors deliberated for about three hours Friday before convicting 38-year-old Jeremy Brake in the October 2016 killing of Michael King and setting King’s home on fire while the man lay dying.
Circuit Judge Gary Cottrell followed the sentencing recommendations of jurors, who proposed a 15-year sentence on the murder charge and two more years for using a firearm to commit a felony.
The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that King’s best friend and roommate testified at trial that he saw Brake shoot King in the chest with a sawed-off shotgun and pistol grip.
Brake denied killing King when he testified on his own behalf.
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