A Fulton man was sentenced to 74 years in prison after being found guilty last month of multiple charges, including second-degree murder.
Justin Ray Witt, 51, of Fulton was found guilty by a Boone County jury on March 31 of attempted possession of a controlled substance, attempted stealing by deceit, unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, second-degree murder and armed criminal action.
The three-day trial was held in Columbia last month after Witt requested a change of venue.
According to a statement from Callaway County Prosecuting Attorney Christopher Wilson, the judge overruled Witt's motion for a new trial after the conviction.
The judge sentence Witt to four years in prison on each of the charges of attempted possession of a controlled substance, attempted stealing by deceit and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He was also sentenced to 30 years in prison for second-degree murder and 40 years in prison for armed criminal action.
The judge ordered the 30-year sentence for the murder conviction run consecutively to the four-year sentences and the 40-year sentence for armed criminal action run consecutively to all other sentences for a total for a total of 74 years in prison.
Wilson said Witt was charged with the shooting and death of Nathan Pritchett Jr. with a 20-gauge shotgun during a drug transition April 2, 2019.
Joey Morris and William Schoening-Scoggins previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the offense and each was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
In the early hours of the morning, Witt went with Morris and Schoening-Scoggins in a borrowed vehicle to meet Pritchett on County Road 136 with the intent to purchase methamphetamine.
The three men brought counterfeit money to the transition, Wilson said.
Morris entered Pritchett's vehicle, he said, while Witt and Schoening-Scoggins remained in their vehicle.
Witt, who was previously convicted of the felonies of unlawful use of a weapon (2010) and attempted statutory rape in the second degree (2011), admitted he brought the shotgun to the transaction and loaded it in the car.
Wilson said, during the interaction with Morris, Pritchett recognize the money as fake and the two began to argue.
Morris said Pritchett threatened him with a handgun and Morris fled Pritchett's vehicle and ran back to the borrowed vehicle occupied by Witt and Schoening-Scoggins.
Witnesses said Pritchett stepped out of his own vehicle and began walking toward Morris' vehicle. Witt said he saw the handgun in Pritchett's hand and heard Pritchett make threatening statements. Witt admitted in an interview with authorities he raised the shotgun while he was still seated in the front passenger seat and shot Pritchett through the driver-side rear window. The blast hit Pritchett in the center of his chest and he died at the scene. Morris, Witt and Schoening-Scoggins fled the scene in the vehicle and split up.
Responding deputies and investigators processed the crime scene, interviewed an eyewitness and located the drugs Pritchett was attempting to sale, as well as a toy gun -- a cap gun -- that looked like the handgun described by Morris and Witt, which is believed to be used by Pritchett during the drug transaction, Wilson said.
After the shooting, Witt returned to his residence and Morris and Schoening-Scoggins returned to a Fulton residence where they were staying, he said.
Within three hours of the shooting, deputies located the suspect's vehicle, which had a shattered driver-side rear window, parked at a Fulton residence and took Morris and Schoening-Scoggins into custody.
Additional investigation led to the issuance of a search warrant for Witt's residence day and investigators located the 20-gauge shotgun, shotgun shells and more counterfeit money, Wilson said. Witt was taken into custody and had another 20-gauge shotgun shell in his pocket at the time of his arrest.
Morris, Witt and Schoening-Scoggins were all charged with second-degree murder under Missouri's felony-murder rule, which makes a suspect criminally liable for the killing of any other person that occurs while the suspect is engaged in the commission of a felony offense. Missouri's self-defense law does not apply to homicides committed during the commission of another felony and charged under the state's felony murder rule and the jury was so instructed.
The jury found Witt guilty of all the charges after just more than an hour of deliberation, Wilson said. The judge accepted the verdicts and set the matter for post-trial motions and sentencing Monday in Callaway County.
Witt was charged as a persistent felony offender based on his prior felony convictions and faces up to seven years in prison each on the charges of attempted possession of a controlled substance and attempted stealing by deceit. He faces three to 10 years on the charge of unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, as well as up to life in prison on the murder charge and a sentence of no less than three years on the armed criminal action charge, Wilson said.
The case was investigated by the Callaway County Sheriff's Office with assistance by the Fulton Police Department. The case was prosecuted by the Callaway County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. Witt was defended by the Missouri State Public Defender's Office.
Morris and Schoening-Scoggins had previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the offense and each was sentenced to 12 years in prison.