JONESBORO -- A Craighead County Circuit Court jury found a Jonesboro woman guilty of first-degree murder Friday for fatally shooting a man in his home, Prosecuting Attorney Scott Ellington said.
The jury took about 3½ hours to find Tonisha Mitchell, 23, guilty of killing Nelson McCullough, 28, and sentenced her to life in prison.
Witnesses told police that Mitchell and Ladarius Lee, 21, of Jonesboro entered McCullough's home on West Monroe Avenue in Jonesboro on May 25, 2015, and shot him in the chest and head.
Lee pleaded guilty to second-degree murder earlier this year in exchange for his testimony in Mitchell's trial. Lee testified that he thought the two were going to rob McCullough and Mitchell shot McCullough twice, Ellington said.
Ellington said additional sheriff's deputies were called to the Craighead County Courthouse in Jonesboro before the verdict was read Friday evening because of fights that had broken out among families during pretrial hearings. At least nine deputies ringed the courtroom, but there was no trouble Friday, he said.
State Desk on 06/24/2017