FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) - Jurors in Flagstaff deliberated less than three hours before convicting a 23-year-old man of second-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of his landlord who was trying to collect overdue rent.
The Arizona Daily Sun reports that James Womble faces between 10 and 25 years in prison when he is sentenced June 5 in Coconino County Superior Court for the July 2017 killing of 63-year-old Peter Gillespie.
Gillespie was stabbed eight times with scissors after he went to collect overdue rent from Womble and his roommates.
Prosecutor Bryan Shea argued to jurors Thursday that Womble had lied to investigators multiple times about what happened in order to present a better defense.
Defense attorney Adam Zickerman described Gillespie as the aggressor, citing Womble's testimony that Gillespie chest-bumped him first.
