LEXINGTON, S.C. (AP) — A man has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for the death of a South Carolina woman more than four years ago.

The State (http://bit.ly/2riKcxo) reported a Lexington County jury deliberated less than five hours Thursday before returning a guilty verdict against John Christopher Hart.

Hart was charged in the 2013 shooting death of 43-year-old Paula Justice of West Columbia.

Prosecutors say someone who thought he heard a gunshot found Justice's body beside a road. She was scheduled to testify against a co-defendant in a drug trafficking case.

Prosecutors say Justice's co-defendant in the case, Jeremy Pugh Washington of Gaston, and Hart picked the woman up at a restaurant shortly before she was killed.

Hart was arrested in Rome, New York. Washington is awaiting trial.

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Information from: The State, http://www.thestate.com