<p>JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. — A man who pleaded guilty to fatally shooting a co-worker in 2019 at their southern Indiana workplace has been sentenced to 17 1/2 years in prison.</p>
<p>A Clark County judge sentenced Bobby Powell, 20, on Monday in the July 2019 killing of James Winters Jr., at a Big O Tires store in Jeffersonville where both men worked.</p>
<p>The judge suspended all but 10 years of his sentence and imposed strict probation conditions for the remainder of his sentence, the <a href="https://www.newsandtribune.com/news/17-1-2-year-sentence-in-big-o-fatal-shooting/article_e777a02a-7b77-11eb-9658-477b0bbdb9b7.html">News and Tribune</a> reported.</p>
<p>Powell, was originally charged with murder, but he pleaded guilty in November to voluntary manslaughter and carrying a handgun without a license within 500 feet of a school, both felonies.</p>
<p>His plea agreement specified that Powell pleaded guilty to an amended voluntary manslaughter charge for acting in “a sudden heat” and shooting Winters. </p>
<p>As part of his plea, Powell confirmed that he had shot Winters, who police say was unarmed, as his co-worker was running toward him after having threatened him earlier in the day.</p>
<p>If Powell had been convicted of the original murder charge, he could have been sentenced to 45 to 65 years in prison on that charge alone.</p>
