A Clinton man has been sentenced to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty this week to the slaying of a Faulkner County resident last summer.
Travis Watson, 44, entered the negotiated guilty plea Monday before Judge Charles E. Clawson in Faulkner County Circuit Court on a reduced charge of first-degree murder, according to court filings.
He had initially been charged with capital murder in the killing of James “Buddy” Land, 49, of Vilonia, who was found by the sheriff's office bloodied and beaten June 9, 2015, at 636 Arkansas 287 in the Holland community.
Land, who had suffered blunt-force trauma to his head, was pronounced dead at the scene, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette previously reported.
After being named a suspect early on in the investigation, Watson surrendered to Faulkner County sheriff's deputies June 13, 2015.
As part of the plea agreement, a class B felony charge of possession of a firearm by certain persons was dropped, according to Watson’s sentencing order.
The first-degree murder charge, a class Y felony, included a punishment range of 10 to 40 years in prison.