One sentencing, one trial in shooting

A Long Beach man arrested in connection to a 2004 shooting has been sentenced to prison, and another is awaiting trial on charges of shooting a man in the back during a drug sale in Huntington Beach.

Robert Kurt Jones pleaded guilty in December 2007 to shooting a male victim in a dispute over marijuana sales and was sentenced to five years in state prison in November for attempted murder, according to court documents.

Jovan Deonte Barber is charged with attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, using a firearm and possession of a loaded and concealed firearm with gang and weapon enhancements for the same incident.

Barber could be sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, according to the Huntington Beach Police Department. His next hearing date is set for January, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

A male was shot in the back with a small-caliber firearm at Goldenwest Street and Heil Avenue by two men from Long Beach on Feb. 9, 2004, according to the Huntington Beach police. The victim refused to cooperate with officers at first, but later told detectives he was shot during a dispute over marijuana sales.

Detectives identified two suspects through surveillance and multiple location search warrants, which led to the arrest of Barber and Jones in December 2007, according to the Huntington Beach police.

— Britney Barnes