PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — A Wood County man, convicted in a 2022 Parkersburg shooting death, was sentenced to multiple years in prison Wednesday including life with mercy.

Justin Keel, also known as George Smith, 23, was convicted in a February trial of the May 2022 death of T.J. Mills Jr. He shot and killed Mills during a robbery attempt linked to a marijuana purchase. Mills was found dead near Covert Street.

Wood County Circuit Judge Jason Wharton sentenced Keel to 1-5 for conspiracy, 10 years for using a gun in the crime and life with mercy for Mills’ death. All of the prison time will run consecutively.

Wood County Prosecutor Pat Lefebure pushed for the consecutive sentences.

“He has a prior attempted murder charge, he has the murder charge in this case, so he’s shown certainly a history of violence with no regards to our society,” Lefebure told MetroNews Wednesday.

The testimony of co-defendant Dezaray Roberts, of Vienna, was key to the conviction, Lefebure said.

“In this case we were confident with working with Ms. Roberts and have her testify in this case,” he said.

Roberts agreed to a plea deal with prosecutors in exchange for her testimony. She is serving a 15-year prison sentence on a robbery conviction. Roberts is also expected to testify against a third defendant, Donavan McCune, who is scheduled to go on trial in August.

Lefebure said Mills’ family has worked closely with prosecutors to get justice for their son.

“They were ecstatic with the sentence today. They were happy to have now two of these defendants down and we still have one to go,” Lefebure said.

Keel will have a chance for parole in 15 years.

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