{Charleston, West Virginia}...Friday, Shawn Lester, 37, of Charleston, was sentenced to 40 years in prison for the 2003 death of Jeanie Patton. On July 30th, Lester pleaded guilty to second degree murder in connection with Patton's death. Lester was originally charged with first degree murder in the deaths of Patton, Gary Carrier Jr. and Okey Meadows Jr. As part of the plea, he was not required to admit to the murders of Gary Carrier Jr., and Okey Meadows Jr., who were killed outside separate gas stations on different days by a .22 Magnum Marlin rifle. Lester can never be tried in either of those two murders. Supervising deputy U.S. Marshal John James Perrine, who led portions of the initial sniper investigation in 2003, said last month that Lester was connected to several unsolved murders and confirmed that he may have been responsible for the 2008 murder of 33 year old Timothy Wayne Sigman, whose rmains were found buried under the porch of a home in Willard, Kentucky. Charleston Police Lt. Steve Cooper says there is still a continuing investigation into Sigman's murder.
