A Harrison man pleaded guilty to first-degree murder Thursday and was sentenced to 36 years in prison.
Shay Corbett Butler, 23, told police he planned to beat and rob Jeremy Scroggins, 28, in June 2016, but things got out of hand and he shot Scroggins twice in the head with a .22-caliber semi-automatic Ruger pistol.
Butler confessed three months after the homicide, telling police that Scroggins' body was in woods near Denning Cemetery, which is 3 miles northwest of Harrison, according to an affidavit for an arrest warrant written by Capt. Bob King of the Boone County sheriff 's office.
Police found Scroggins' body Oct. 3. He had been missing since June 27 when he left his father's house on foot to meet with Butler.
Records obtained from Facebook helped pinpoint Butler as a suspect, according to the affidavit. Some of the Facebook messages between Scroggins and Butler concerned "narcotic activity," according to the court document.
Butler later told King that he was meeting Scroggins on the night of June 27 to buy drugs from him.
"Details as to why he committed the crime were relayed that Jeremy had stolen drugs and a cell phone from Butler in the past," according to the affidavit.
Butler was arrested on preliminary charges of capital murder, aggravated robbery and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was already in jail on burglary and drug charges when he was arrested for the homicide.
As part of a plea agreement, the charge was changed to first-degree murder, along with aggravated robbery. The firearms charge was dismissed.
Butler will be given credit for 328 days he spent in the Boone County jail, according to the plea agreement.
Metro on 06/06/2017