FORT WAYNE, Ind. — A Fort Wayne man convicted of murder in the April shooting death of a man whose body was discovered in a wooded area was sentenced to 91 years in prison Tuesday.
A jury last month also found Anthony J. Lopez, 42, guilty of illegal possession of a firearm in the death of William Jeffrey Kintzel, 63, of South Whitley.
Allen County Superior Court Judge Fran Gull sentenced Lopez to 65 years for the murder, 20 years for a sentence enhancement for using a gun in the crime and six years for carrying a handgun with a felony conviction within the previous 15 years.
Kintzel was facing an upcoming trial for cocaine possession when his body was discovered April 14. Police believe the slaying occurred days earlier.
Prosecutors said a nearby resident’s surveillance camera captured footage of Kintzel driving Lopez and another man near the wooded area, parking, and the man waiting in Kintzel’s SUV while the victim and Lopez head into the woods and then Lopez runs out of the woods.
Lopez’s attorney, Richard Thonert, has said he will appeal the verdicts.
The driver of the SUV was Michael Allen Barker, 42, of Fort Wayne, investigators have said.
There’s a warrant for Barker’s arrest charging him with murder and felony robbery resulting in serious bodily injury.
