A Toccoa man convicted of felony murder and other charges receives a life sentence with the chance of parole.
Steve A. Sims, Jr. of Toccoa was sentenced Thursday in Mountain Judicial Circuit Superior Court in Toccoa.
Sims, Jr. was convicted last month on charges of felony murder, voluntary manslaughter, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony in connection to the death of Shawn Hancock of Toccoa in March in the midst of an altercation the two men had at Sims, Jr.’s South Sage Street home.
Sims was sentenced to life in prison on the count of felony murder, then five additional years in prison on the charge of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
According to court officials, the count of voluntary manslaughter vacates by law and the count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon merges into the felony murder charge.
Court officials do say the sentence comes with the opportunity of parole.