Man gets over 12 years in killing at motorcycle club

A man who killed his friend without provocation last year in Stafford County was ordered Tuesday to serve 12 years and nine months in prison.

George R. Batts Jr., 40, of Richlands, North Carolina, shot 47-year-old Ely P. Grimes outside an industrial park building on International Parkway in southern Stafford on Jan. 21, 2021. Batts and Grimes were members of the Tuckahoe Motorcycle Club and had come from North Carolina to attend an event, court records show.

Batts previously pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Stafford Circuit Court. Prosecutor Greg Holt and defense attorney Joe Flood worked out a deal in which other charges were dropped and it was agreed that Batts would receive an active prison sentence of no more than 17 years.

READ REST OF ARTICLE