A western Pennsylvania judge has denied a man's petition for a reduction of his 20- to 40-year prison sentence in the slaying of an elderly man that authorities said stemmed from a love triangle involving the younger man's girlfriend.
A Fayette County jury earlier this month convicted 37-year-old Jonathan Godines of Brownsville of third-degree murder and aggravated assault in the November 2011 death of 75-year-old John Eicholtz.
The (Uniontown) Herald-Standard says President Judge John Wagner Jr. rejected a defense motion to reduce the sentence, citing his earlier statements during sentencing.
Defense attorneys called the sentence "harsh, severe and excessive" and said a concurrent 10- to 20-year aggravated assault sentence is illegal.
The judge said he imposed that term in the event the murder conviction is overturned.