GUILTY NC - Jefferson Heavner, 26, shot, killed by drunk driver, Catawba County, 22 Jan 2016

Prosecutors have decided not to seek the death penalty against a Claremont man accused of killing a Good Samaritan on an icy Catawba County road in January.

Marvin Jacob Lee, 28, still faces the possibility of life in prison without parole, prosecutors said in announcing their decision not to pursue capital punishment against Lee.

Lee also faces charges of attempted first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and discharging a weapon into an occupied vehicle. He remained in the Catawba County Jail without bail Thursday.

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A North Carolina man who gunned down a Good Samaritan during a snowstorm will spend at least 14 years in prison.

Marvin Jacob Lee admitted on Wednesday to fatally shooting 26-year-old Jefferson Lee Heavner on an icy Catawba County road in January 2016.

Lee, 29, of Claremont, was sentenced after pleading guilty to second-degree murder and two counts of discharging a weapon into an occupied vehicle, the Catawba County District Attorney’s Office said.

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At almost two years to the day, the family of Jefferson Heavner can finally find some closure after Marvin Jacob Lee, of Claremont, pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of Heavner in Catawba County Superior Court on Wednesday afternoon.

“He meant the world to me,” his cousin said, adding that Heavner was thoughtful and kind. “I didn’t just lose a cousin. I lost a best friend.”

When his mother spoke, she shared how his 3-year-old son will never know his father, but they will be sure to share the memories they have of Heavner with him.

“In order for my life to move on, I have to forgive,” she added. “And I do.”

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