A 49-year-old Hot Springs man was found guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced to 15 years in prison Tuesday after a trial in Garland County Circuit Court, the Hot Springs Sentinel-Record reported.
Johnny Carl Moody faced a charge of first-degree murder in the Oct. 7, 2015, shooting that killed 31-year-old Rodney Brown, but the jury convicted him of the lesser second-degree charge.
Prosecutors alleged the shooting stemmed from a drug transaction, the Sentinel-Record reported. Garland County Public Defender Tim Beckham argued it was self-defense and that Moody had paid Brown back $150 owed to him, but Brown "was still shaking [Moody] down for more money periodically," the newspaper reported.
Moody will be eligible for parole in less than four years.
The shooting happened in the 600 block of Second Street in Hot Springs.