CROWN POINT | A 34-year-old Gary man was sentenced Wednesday to 90 years in prison for the 2010 murder of a tire service manager at the Steel City Truck Stop in Gary.
Kevin Brown was charged with murder in the death of Vernale Givens, who made his way into the convenience store area before collapsing from gunshot wounds.
Responding police officers found Givens dead of gunshot wounds to the chest and back.
Jurors found Brown guilty of the murder charge last month. On Wednesday, Brown was sentenced to 60 years on the murder charge. The sentence was enhanced by 30 years due to a habitual offender conviction.
Brown, who admitted to the habitual offender charge at the conclusion of the trial, acted as his own defense counsel during trial with public defender Robert Varga standing by.
According to charging documents, three days after Givens was shot, Gary officers found a black Ford Taurus parked in the 300 block of Grant Street.
The car matched the description of the vehicle used in the homicide.
In court documents, Brown is alleged to have admitted shooting Givens after a confrontation.
Police allege Brown stated he fired at Givens "till I seen him run off," after which Brown drove away in a Taurus he had stolen from an Illinois lot.
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