Columbus man found guilty of manslaughter in Lowndes Co.
LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – A Columbus man will spend the next 19 years in prison for killing his cousin.
A Lowndes County jury found Israel Buckhalter guilty of Manslaughter and Shooting into an Occupied Dwelling late last night.
Buckhalter was back in court this morning to hear his sentence.
He was initially charged with Second-Degree Murder in the shooting death of Desi Shepherd in July 2020.
Judge Jim Kitchens sentenced Buckhalter to 20 years with 6 suspended for the Manslaughter charge, and 10 years with 5 suspended for Shooting into an Occupied Dwelling.
The sentences are to be served consecutively, giving Buckhalter a total of 19 years in prison.
Prosecutors say this case is one more example of a problem that is plaguing our communities.
“Too often we’re making that reaction the first thing I’m thinking of, if someone makes me mad or someone posts something on social media that I don’t like, the first thing I’m going to do is shoot. And people need to understand that this decision not only can take a life, the life of the loss of the victim, but it can also take the life of the person shooting. And, it’s too often from this that there are two lives lost,” said Assistant District Attorney Ben Lang.
Israel Buckhalter and his victim, Desi Shepherd, were first cousins.
