Wiseman accepts plea deal for post-Christmas shooting

He will serve 25 years for the death of a Chatsworth man

CHATSWORTH, Georgia (WDEF) – Brandon Neil Wiseman chose a plea deal over a trial for a fatal shooting in Chatsworth the day after Christmas.

Wiseman admitted to police that he killed Joshua Dewayne Petty in the driveway of the victim’s in-laws.

But he claimed it was self defense.

However prosecutors say he never came up with an explanation on why he felt his life was threatened.

Investigators say the two had a history of of run-ins.

Wiseman fled the scene after the shooting and was captured in Tennessee two days later.

Investigators never found the gun.

He was set to go on trial this fall, but today, he accepted a plea deal instead.

Wiseman pleads guilty to Voluntary Manslaughter, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Crime, and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon.

He agreed to serve a total of 25 years on the charges without parole. (He will be 61 when he gets out).

Wiseman has a long criminal history which includes 36 arrests in Georgia and another 6 in Tennessee.

But they were not for violent crimes, mostly traffic. He does have a felony drug conviction from 201o in Scott County, Tennessee and another similar conviction in 2011 in Whitfield County, GA.

Prosecutors say the victim’s family approved of the deal, but said no amount of jail time would ever be enough.