NEWPORT -- A Jonesboro man pleaded guilty Tuesday to first-degree murder and abusing a corpse in the August 2013 slaying of a Newport man, 3rd Judicial Circuit Prosecuting Attorney Henry H. Boyce said.
Garrett Allen Chamblis, 21, entered the pleas in Jackson County Circuit Court.
Circuit Judge Kevin King sentenced Chamblis to 37 years on the first-degree murder count and an additional 10 years on the abuse of a corpse charge. Chamblis will not be eligible for parole for at least 25 years, Boyce said.
Chamblis was charged in the death of Harold Lee Hagar, 66. Jackson County deputies found Hagar's body in a ditch along Jackson County Road 42 northeast of Newport on Aug. 17. He had been shot in the head, police said.
In an arrest affidavit, police said Chamblis met Hagar at Craighead Forest Park in Jonesboro, then drove to Jackson County where Hagar was shot.
State Desk on 01/16/2015