One of two men convicted of murder in the January shooting deaths of two men outside a mid-Michigan Walmart store has been sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Otis Smith Jr. of Grand Rapids earlier was convicted in Shiawassee County Circuit Court in the deaths of 31-year-old Joseph Michael Carson and 39-year-old Anthony Lee Hammond, both of Flint. Their bodies were found in a car at the store's parking lot in Caledonia Township.
Smith learned his punishment last week. Co-defendant Anthony Holloway is awaiting sentencing Friday.
Authorities say Smith was the triggerman and the slayings stemmed from a deal to sell marijuana that was arranged online via Craigslist.
Defense lawyers argued that the shootings were in self-defense. A woman who served as a getaway driver already was sentenced.
