VALDOSTA — A man whose murder trial had been scheduled for this month instead got prison time for lesser charges, court records show.

Originally charged with murder, Dashay Antwan March instead received 15 years on a charge of voluntary manslaughter after a negotiated plea deal in the shooting death of Billy Belle, according to court records. Additional charges ranging from firearms offenses to kidnapping are not being prosecuted, records show. March will also get consideration for time served in jail since 2019.

Coworkers found Belle’s body at his home May 20, 2019, according to a Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office report.

March was previously arrested on charges unrelated to Belle’s death and had been in the Lowndes County Jail at the time of his arrest on the murder charge.

March still faces a murder charge for a separate incident in Adel, according to the Cook County Superior Court clerk’s office.

He and two other people were indicted in Cook County for a deadly shooting at a prom party on April 14, 2019. The murder charge is still active though no trial date has been set, the clerk’s office said.

Terry Richards is senior reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times.