Independence man receives life sentence for murder

An Independence man received a life sentence without parole Wednesday for his role in the October 2013 murder of a Raytown man.

In December, a jury found Chad D. Terry Jr., 20, guilty of first-degree murder and armed criminal action.

According to court records, witnesses told police that Terry shot Erik S. Schwartz, 33, after finding him asleep in his vehicle in the 400 block of North Grand Avenue in Independence. Terry was looking for cars to burglarize when he shot Schwartz and stole his cigarettes, prosecutors said.

A co-defendant, Charles T. Carr III, already has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Brian Burnes, bburnes@kcstar.com

This story was originally published February 4, 2015 at 3:59 PM with the headline "Independence man receives life sentence for murder."