Jessie Wayne Mendenhall, 46, was arrested on a first-degree murder complaint in October 2003 in the death of Billie Jean Branam, 40. Prosecutors filed the lesser charge after reading Muskogee County sheriff's investigator Tim Brown's report disclaiming premeditation on the part of Mendenhall.
Mendenhall, who pleaded guilty in May, was also sentenced to 10 years in prison on a drug count. His sentences were ordered to run consecutively.
Branam was reportedly returning home after the two fought earlier in the night when Mendenhall shot Branam while she was driving up to their home.
Mendenhall told authorities that "he just wanted to shoot out the tires" after their argument, Brown said. According to court documents, Mendenhall reportedly sat in a chair in the yard with a spotlight, assault rifle, binoculars, and a case of beer and waited for Branam to return.
According to reports, Branam drove to a neighbor's yard a half-mile away after she was shot, where she got out of her vehicle, collapsed and died.
