LEESBURG, Va. (WUSA9) -- A Virginia man convicted of first degree murder for fatally shooting a man in 2012 will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
Ryan Blaine Williams, 33, was sentenced to life in prison plus three years after a judge affirmed the jury verdict Thursday in Loudoun County Circuit Court.
Williams was found guilty of one count of first degree murder and one count of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony for the December 2012 death of Jovaughn Johnson, 30, of Sterling.
"Given the sheer brutality of this crime I see no reason not to impose the jury's recommendation," said Judge Thomas D Horne.
Johnson's family members testified at the hearing, recalling how Jovaughn could always make them laugh and how their lives will never be the same without him.
On December 27, 2012, Williams shot Johnson fives times in his vehicle near Great Trail Terrace and Trail Run Terrace in Sterling. His body was there for several hours before being discovered.
