Lexington, SC (WLTX) - A man has been sentenced to 40 years in prison without the possibility of parole for killing two military service members who tried to protect a woman at a popular Lake Murray bar and restaurant.
Joseph Elijah Mills, 27, pleaded guilty to the murders of 40-year-old Charles Allen Judge Jr. and 29-year-old Jonathan Michael Prins. Mills killed Judge and Prins outside the Frayed Knott Bar and Grill back on July 24, 2016.
Previous coverage: Bar owner says men were killed defending woman at bar
Judge R. Knox McMahon imposed the sentence after the victims' families and prosecutors agreed on a negotiated sentence for Mills.
Mills went to the Frayed Knot that night looking for his girlfriend, prosecutors say. The two got into an argument, and Mills chased and tackled the woman in front of other people at the bar.
He was separated from the woman, and then went outside ot the nearby shoreline, where he fired several gunshots into the air. Judge and Prins were on a boat anchored at the end of a dock at the location, and when they heard gunfire, they ran toward the sounds of the shots.
Prosecutors say they tried to defuse the situation and disarm Mills, but he shot them in the upper body.
Prins died at the scene, while Judge died on his way to the hospital.
Judge was a Sergeant First Class of the S.C. Army National Guard. He served twenty-one years in service overseas in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the Iraqi Governance Campaign. He was the founder of Upstate Stand Down, a non-profit organization which focuses on helping homeless and at risk Veterans.
Prins was a Drill Sergeant in the U.S. Army stationed at Fort Jackson. During his ten years with the Army, he served two tours in Afghanistan and one tour in Iraq.