Man Sentenced To 60 Years For Murder

A 20-year-old Pine Bluff man who pleaded guilty to shooting an auto parts store employee in 2002 has been sentenced to 60 years in prison. Tyrone Bernard Fells was 19 at the time 59-year-old Lonnie F- Brown was murdered during a robbery of an auto parts store on December fifth, 2002. Fells and three others were charged with theft of property, aggravated robbery and capital murder, which carries a penalty of death or life in prison without parole. Fells pleaded guilty Tuesday to first-degree murder, aggravated robbery, and theft of property in the slaying and to charges related to another robbery days before Brown was killed. ------ Brandon Christopher Thomas, Rapheal Brisker and Latorrie White were charged in the murder case. Police said Fells and Thomas, then 16 years old, fatally shot Brown when he said he didn`t know the combination of the store`s safe. Authorities said that Brisker was a getaway driver and that White, a former store employee, planned the robbery. Brisker has pleaded guilty and is currently in prison. Thomas and White are scheduled for trial, beginning April 15th. Posted by Mike Hellgren