CROWN POINT | A Lake Criminal Court judge sentenced Timothy Harvey to 55 years in prison Friday for what prosecutors called the "cold-blooded" 2005 shooting death of his neighbor.

A jury found the 22-year-old Harvey, of Gary, guilty last month of killing 44-year-old Ricky Chapman.

Chapman's body was found on Christmas Day 2005.

Harvey told police he shot Chapman on Dec. 22, 2005, after he went into Chapman's basement to borrow a tool and received unwanted and disturbing attention from Chapman, court records state. He also took $701 from Chapman's wallet because he said Chapman "wouldn't need it anymore," prosecutors alleged during the trial.

After the shooting at the home in the 6400 block of Ash Street in Gary, Harvey threw the murder weapon into the lagoon at Gary's Marquette Park, police said.

Police discovered Chapman's body after relatives in Illinois reported he had not shown up for a holiday gathering.

Deputy Prosecutor Karen Villarruel told Lake Criminal Court Judge Clarence Murray that Harvey should have received a 60-year sentence based on the nature of the crime. The victim was defenseless and was shot four times, twice in the head and twice in the back, Villarruel said.