DECATUR â Matthew A. Anderson Jr., the Decatur man convicted of shooting another man to death in the back of a crowded restaurant, was sentenced to 50 years in prison Wednesday afternoon.
Anderson, 22, will be more than 70 years old before he is eligible for release. Macon County Circuit Court Judge James Coryell said the sentences â 25 years plus a 25-year enhancement for using a gun to kill â must be served at 100%.
Anderson was convicted by a jury in May of first-degree murder in the shooting death of 18-year-old Curtis T. Hairston. He was gunned down in a shoot-out with Anderson on Jan. 4, 2019, in the menâs restroom of the former Long John Silverâs restaurant on West Eldorado Street.
DECATUR â Matthew A. Anderson Jr. now faces a sentencing range of 45 years to natural life in prison after a jury convicted him of murder Thursday morning.
Anderson, 22, was found guilty of first-degree murder and the jury also found him guilty of personally discharging a firearm in the Jan. 4, 2019, death of 18-year-old Curtis T. Hairston. The victim was fatally wounded in a bathroom shootout in the former Long John Silverâs restaurant on West Eldorado Street. Anderson was also badly wounded.
The finding that Anderson had used a firearm in the crime automatically adds 25 years to the sentencing range.
The trial had started with jury selection Monday in Macon County Circuit Court and got underway Tuesday. The jury got the case at 3 p.m. Wednesday, asked several questions which Judge James Coryell answered, and then went home for the day at 4:30 p.m.
Timothy W. Smith
Timothy W. Smith pleaded not guilty April 1 to two charges of aggravated criminal sexual abuse involving a girl under the age of 15 and a charge of domestic battery involving physical contact against the same victim.
Bryan C. McGee
Bryan C. McGee was sentenced to 18 months in prison for possession of a stolen handgun after accepting a plea deal. A judge dismissed one count of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.Â
Justin D. Tate
Police say Justin D. Tate picked up a runaway 14-year-old girl and force-fed her methamphetamine before making her perform sex acts and then raping her. He was arrested March 24.