PANAMA CITY — The state will not pursue the death penalty against Billy Herman Shaffer, who is accused of sneaking into the trailer of his former roommate, Matthew Kelley, and killing him with his own shotgun in November.
On Monday, Shaffer’s lawyer, Matthew Meredith, said in court he expects they will be prepared to resolve that case within the next 30 days, indicating a possible plea agreement.
Shaffer, who said he was in a "failed domestic relationship" with Kelley, told police he had been thinking about killing Kelley for about a month-and-a-half after he was evicted from the trailer Kelley inherited from his father. Hours before allegedly shooting him, Shaffer was picked up by law enforcement about a block from Kelley's home while sleeping in a storage container and was issued a notice to appear for trespassing. Several hours later, police say Shaffer sneaked into Kelley's residence through a back door and waited for him to return home before ambushing Kelley and shooting him to death.
Shaffer will be back in court March 5 for a pretrial hearing.