Rural Sikeston man gets 30 years for 2007 murder

SIKESTON, Mo. -- A rural Sikeston man was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the 2007 murder of a Morehouse, Mo., man.

Lee Roy "Chuck" King II was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in prison for voluntary manslaughter and 15 years for armed criminal action. The sentences are to run consecutively. He appeared before Butler County Judge Mark Lee Richardson.

Following a change of venue, King was found guilty Dec. 12 by a Butler County jury for the March 2007 shooting death of Richard L. Sterling, 37.

According to initial reports from the Sikeston Department of Public Safety, a call about a shooting outside Cronies Sports Bar and Grill was received around 9:30 p.m. March 27, 2007. Upon arrival, officers found Sterling lying on the ground east of the business. Sterling had apparently been shot several times with a shotgun and was pronounced dead at the scene.