Rodney Antonio Gearing pleaded guilty on Friday to second-degree murder in a 2018 Ooltewah case.
Gearing waived his right to a trial and agreed to serve a 25-year sentence in the Tennessee Department of Corrections, according to a news release from the Hamilton County District Attorney's Office.
The crime occurred on July 22, 2018, on School Street in Ooltewah. The victim, Gary Percill McPherson, was found the next day in his home in a pool of blood, according to court documents.
Gearing was linked to the death by bloody shoe prints left at the scene. Witnesses also recalled seeing Gearing the night of the 22nd with a pistol and various injuries.
- Compiled by Tierra Hayes