Homicide case resolved at the courthouse

A plea today in the shooting death of an elderly man, shot thru the eye nearly one and a half years ago in rural Oconee.  The guilty plea of Brian James Schwenk to the charge of involuntary manslaughter of James Richard Carlson, 65, was followed this morning by a sentence of five years in prison, suspended to five years’ probation.  A recitation of the facts indicated a quarrel between the two men on Little Choestoea Road August 22, 2020 left Carlson dead and Schwenk charged with murder.  Today the court accepted the defendant’s plea to the lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter.