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Former NASA worker sentenced to life in prison for killing National Guardsman

According to the Associated Press, the victim's mother said the pair were neighbors who had an ongoing dispute.

WASHINGTON — A Fairfax County man convicted of first-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony after shooting a 24-year-old man in March was sentenced Friday to life in prison.

Michael Hetle, 52, has been held without bond since 2020 for the shooting of Javon Prather, 24, that happened in the 7700 block of Bedstraw Court in Fairfax, Va.

According to the Associated Press, Prather's mother said the pair were neighbors who had an ongoing dispute. Police didn't give a motive in the shooting.  

Hetle was charged with first-degree murder and the use of a firearm to commit a murder. 

In addition to life in prison, the state has asked the court to impose three more years in prison, and "suspend that period conditioned on the defendant's compliance with three years of post-release supervision, should he ever be released."

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