Debra Spratlin and her daughter Laura watched as 24-year-old Malcum Allen plead guilty to capital murder in a Lee County courtroom Tuesday afternoon in the death of her husband, Walter Cade Spratlin Jr.

“He was a good man and he didn’t deserve this, and I was just wanting it to be over, wanting all of this to end so now me and my daughter can move on with our lives,” Spratlin said.

Allen is charged with fatally shooting Spratlin at his business, Cade’s Custom’s Exhaust, in Opelika on April 11, 2012.

Spratlin suffered two gunshot wounds to the head and one in the side after he refused to give Allen money during a robbery.

“I’m never going to understand why. For the money I am assuming, which is stupid. I wish he would have just given him the money, maybe he would still be here, but then again you never know and I won’t ever know,” explained Spratlin.

Allen was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the capital murder charge and 48 months for theft in the first degree.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office has made an arrest in the death of 75-year-old Garvin John Albertson who was found dead in his home on Aug. 22.

Deputies arrested 27-year-old Solomon Jamall Barnett, of Salem, on Tuesday on outstanding warrants for murder, first degree robbery, first degree burglary and first degree theft of property.

Barnett’s arrest comes after the investigation revealed evidence linking him to the beating and shooting death of Albertson.

Barnett was already incarcerated in the Lee County Detention Facility on other charges when he was arrested on Tuesday.

Deputies found Albertson’s body in his home back in August, which was located in the 100 block of Lee County Road 40 in Opelika.

The Sheriff’s office received a call at 3:16 p.m. from two citizens reporting a possible suicide at the residence. They stated they had gone to the house to check on Albertson after being unable to reach him by phone.

When deputies arrived on scene, they discovered that Albertson had suffered a single gunshot wound to the abdomen and had multiple lacerations consistent with blunt force trauma to the head.

Albertson, who is a retired military man, lived alone and the preliminary investigation by deputies supports robbery as a possible motive for his murder.

The case is still under investigation and other arrest are expected to be made. If you have any information about the case, please contact the Lee County Sheriff’s Office at 334-749-5651 or the Lee County Crime Stoppers at 1-888-555-7847.