Life Sentence Given for Waterloo Murder Conviction

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — A Cedar Rapids man has been given life in prison for killing a Waterloo resident.

26-year-old James Ernst II didn't comment as Judge Andrea Dryer sentenced him Monday in Black Hawk County District Court. On Feb. 26 a jury convicted Ernst of first-degree murder.

Authorities say Ernst fatally shot 23-year-old Orintheo Campbell Jr. in December 2014 following a fight that escalated in a convenience store parking lot. During the trial Ernst testified that he fired because Campbell had punched him and reached for his waistband. Ernst said he assumed Campbell was reaching for a weapon. Authorities say Campbell was unarmed.