CLAY COUNTY, Miss. (WJTV) – A Starkville man pled guilty in connection to a fatal shooting outside a West Point tire plant in 2023.

The Daily Journal reported Willie T. Swain, Jr., 43, pled guilty to second-degree murder on Thursday, November 21. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison with 10 years suspended, followed by five years of post-release supervision.

Authorities said the shooting occurred on February 22, 2023, after two men got into an argument at the Yokohama Tire Company. They said Swain shot a fellow employee, Javarest Gray, 28, in the parking lot of the business.

Gray was transported to a West Point hospital where he was pronounced deceased. Swain was arrested the following day.