An Idiana man identified as 58-year-old Randy Small, was found guilty in July in the 2021 murder of his 70-year-old neighbor over a patch of land that both men claimed was their own, People reports.
Randy Small was sentenced on Monday, a little over a month after he was found guilty for murdering 70-year-old Robert Adair in Brown County, Ind., according to Law and Crime. Both Small and Adair lived on a spread of land that had only four houses, the outlet reported.
Animosity had been brewing between the two for months, with each claiming a patch of land as their own. Adair had a mailbox in that area over the past few years, Kelly Pyle, one of Small’s attorneys, according to People.
The murder occurred on Sept. 15, 2021, according to WBIW, and Randy Small was charged with murder the following day, online jail records show. Small claimed “self-defense” in the case, Pyle said.
Law and Crime reported that the victim’s body wasn’t found until 10 hours later after an hour-long standoff occurred between Small and local authorities.
Adair’s remains were found in his truck, where he still had his foot on the brake with his hands “folded peacefully in his lap,” Law and Crime reported.
According to court records, Randy Small was held without bail and entered a not guilty plea following the incident in 2021. A jury declared him guilty in July of this year.
On Wednesday, Andrew Joseph Baldwin, Small’s lead defense attorney, told Peole that Small will be appealing the sentence and asking for a new trial.