A 34-year-old North Little Rock man who killed his roommate and put him next to a trash can has accepted a 60-year sentence for the slaying.
Marcus Eugene Foster was arrested in February 2014 at his Vestal Road home by North Little Rock police responding to a report of a shooting and found 33-year-old Paul Edward Samaniego fatally wounded.
Witnesses Michael Brooks and Tanedra Dixon told investigators they called 911 after Foster told them he had shot Samaniego during an argument and then put him into a trash can, court files show. Foster also told the 911 operator he had shot the man in the back because they had been arguing and he was tired of Samaniego disrespecting him.
According to his obituary in the Advance-Monticellonian newspaper, Samaniego had a son and was a former Army Ranger who served two tours in Afghanistan.
Foster pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm June 10 in exchange for prosecutors reducing the homicide charge from first-degree murder and recommending the 60-year sentence imposed by Pulaski County Circuit Judge Herb Wright.
Foster has four drug convictions from Drew County and was on parole for a 2013 felony domestic-battery conviction from Sebastian County, court records show.
Metro on 06/17/2015