One of three men charged in connection without a shootout last year in Texarkana pleaded guilty to murder Tuesday and received a 30-year prison term.
Anthony Sean King, 22, appeared with Bill McClean of the Arkansas Public Defender Commission at a hearing before Circuit Judge Carlton Jones.
"The state, my client and I have entered into a plea agreement," McClean said.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Chuck Black said the state agreed to amend a charge of capital murder to the lesser offense of second degree murder in exchange for King's guilty plea. The plea allowed King to avoid a potential sentence of life without parole.
King is the second of three defendants facing charges in the Feb. 25, 2014, shooting death of 25-year-old DeMarquis Reeves to plead guilty. Last week, Joel Edward Hill, 23, received a 29-year sentence as part of a plea arrangement.
A charge of capital murder remains pending against Devin White, 22.
As part of their plea bargains, Hill and King agreed to testify against White, should his case go to trial.
About a week before the shooting that left Reeves dead and King and White suffering from gunshot wounds, White's iPad and gun allegedly were stolen, according to court documents used to create the following account.
Reeves allegedly offered the iPad and weapon for sale on his Facebook page. King allegedly lured Reeves to his house on Locust Street in Texarkana, Ark., by expressing an interest in buying the items. King allegedly answered the door when Reeves arrived, while White and Hill hid in the house out of sight. The three defendants allegedly attacked Reeves as soon as he entered the house.
Hill was armed with a pistol, and White allegedly carried an AR-15 rifle.
"The defendants continued to beat the victim until the victim got his gun out and shot at his assailants," states an order denying bond for King issued by Circuit Judge Kirk Johnson in May. "King and White were wounded in the exchange, and the victim was shot multiple times.
Black read a portion of a statement King previously gave to investigators about what happened the day Reeves was killed. In the statement, White alleges Reeves was unconscious on the floor when White fatally shot him with the AR-15.
"Reeves was down, and White didn't have to shoot him," Black read from the statement in court Tuesday.
White is scheduled to return to court for a pretrial hearing next month.