By Ray King
A 26-year-old Pine Bluff man was sentenced to prison Tuesday after pleading guilty to a murder committed in 2019.
Jaylon Lowe was originally charged with capital murder but entered the plea to a reduced charge of first-degree murder on the second day of his trial in Jefferson County Circuit Court.
Prosecuting Attorney S. Kyle Hunter said Judge Jodi Raines Dennis sentenced Lowe to 30 years in prison and he will be required to serve 70 percent of that sentence before being eligible to apply for parole.
Lowe was accused in the April 5, 2019 shooting death of Detric Releford, 22, who was found lying in the street at 26th Avenue and Orange Street and was pronounced dead at the scene of gunshot wounds to the chest and the back of his head.
A video of the incident showed Lowe getting out of a vehicle and walking toward Releford and the two appeared to talk before Lowe fired four shots, striking Releford at least once. The two began fighting on the ground before Releford got up and tried to run away. Lowe then fired two more shots at Releford before getting back into the vehicle, which was driven by a second individual, a female.
Hunter said that female was originally charged but those charges were later dropped.
According to the plea statement, Lowe will receive 1,483 days of jail time credit.
Hunter and Deputy Prosecutor Keith Hall represented the state and Little Rock attorney Bill James represented Lowe.
