WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- A former college student has been spared the possibility of a death sentence after a North Carolina jury convicted him of second-degree murder in the shooting death of a police officer three years ago.
The Winston-Salem Journal reported that Keith Antoine Carter was convicted Thursday in the death of Sgt. Howard Plouff, who was shot as he tried to break up a fight in the parking lot of a nightclub on Feb. 23, 2007. Carter was a senior at Winston-Salem State University at the time.
Carter would have faced a possible death sentence if he had been convicted of first-degree murder. Jurors returned the second-degree guilty verdict after 10 hours of deliberations over two days.
A sentencing hearing was scheduled to begin Friday in Forsyth County Superior Court. Carter could face eight to 17 years in prison.
Information from: Winston-Salem Journal
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