Knoxville, TN (WOKI) A man is sentenced to life in prison for a January 2022 murder in North Knoxville.

According to District Attorney Charme Allen’s office, 61-year-old Johnny Robert McBee has been convicted of first-degree murder and unlawful possession of a weapon and sentenced to life in the Tennessee Department of Correction for shooting and killing 42-year-old Jerome Nance following an argument on January 30, 2022.

Trial records indicate McBee fired three shots at Nance, killing him, after Nance exited his vehicle when both men arrived at 930 Atlantic Avenue following an argument about Nance dating McBee’s niece earlier that day.

During his trial, McBee reportedly said the revolver “accidentally discharged three times,” but District Attorney Charme Allen said he was ultimately found guilty of first degree murder and unlawful possession of a firearm.

The DA’s office described McBee as a “career criminal,” having six prior felonies from the 1980s for armed robbery, assault with intent to murder, and other burglary offenses.