THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 8, 1995 TAG: 9503080526
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Short : 31 lines
A man found guilty of second-degree murder after killing his friend in a drunken rage was given the maximum sentence Tuesday by a Circuit Court judge.
On Jan. 9, Kevin L. Mosley pleaded guilty to the murder charge, use of a firearm and possession of a firearm by a felon. He was originally charged with first-degree murder, but the charge was lowered to second-degree murder as part of his plea agreement.
Judge John E. Clarkson sentenced Mosley to 40 years, the maximum allowed by law for second-degree murder. He also gave the 22-year-old Mosley three years for the firearm charge and five years for possessing the firearm.
Mosley was charged with the July 15, 1994, fatal shooting of his friend, Steven Atkins, in the Berkley section. Police said the two had gotten into a fight and Mosley was bested. Mosley then went home, got drunk and grabbed a handgun. He broke down a door and shot Atkins in a house on South Main Street.
``If this had been first-degree murder, I would have sentenced you to life imprisonment,'' Clarkson said.
KEYWORDS: MURDER SHOOTING TRIAL
SENTENCING by CNB