Malcolm Witherow sits in a Hamilton County Courthouse courtroom Tuesday during the beginning of his trial. Witherow is accused of shooting Melissa Hoover nearly three years ago. Staff Photo by Allison Carter/Chattanooga Times Free Press

A Hamilton County jury has found Malcolm Witherow guilty of premeditated first-degree murder in the 2008 slaying of Melissa Hoover.

Prosecutors Brian Finlay and Neal Pinkston alleged that on Oct. 10, 2008 Witherow, 49, shot and killed Hoover, 31, on Short Tail Springs road following an argument outside a mutual friend's home.

Witnesses testified in the first two days of the trial that Witherow repeatedly threatened to retaliate against Hoover for cooperating with police in a 2005 drug investigation against him.