CRITTENDEN COUNTY, Ark. — An Arkansas man pleaded guilty to a murder charge after the jury was seated in his upcoming criminal trial.
According to prosecutors, the jury had already been selected and were walking into the courtroom when Brandon James changed his mind and entered a guilty plea on second-degree murder and possession of a firearm charges.
He was automatically sentenced to 45 years behind bars.
In April 2017, deputies with the Crittenden County Sheriff’s Department responded to a home in Crawfordsville due to a reported domestic incident. They said the victim – 79-year-old Eddie James – had been attacked by his grandson and had extensive injuries to his head from where he had been kicked and hit.
The older gentleman died from his injuries several months later due to those injuries.