Rolla man gets life in prison for Miller County murders
A Miller County judge sentenced a Rolla man to life in prison Friday for a double killing at Lake Ozark.
Gary Sweet pleaded guilty in March to two counts of second-degree murder, one count of first-degree assault and one count of second-degree assault in the fatal shooting of Jim and Shari Parker. The Parkers worked at an RV park from which Sweet had been evicted, witnesses told investigators after the shooting. Another man survived the shooting.
Prosecutors gave their arguments in the sentencing phase of Sweet’s case last month, but the defense’s case was delayed. Sweet’s lawyer pleaded Friday for leniency, saying his daughter had killed herself in the months before the November 2017 attack, causing Sweet to go into a downward spiral.
However, Judge Matthew Hamner said evidence that Sweet had talked about killing the Parkers days before the attack showed premeditation. He sentenced Sweet to life in prison on each of the murder counts. Those sentences will be served concurrently.
Hamner sentenced Sweet to 15 years in prison on the first-degree assault charge and seven years on the second-degree assault charge. Those sentences will also run concurrently, but will be served consecutively with the life sentence.
