A Morgan County jury has convicted 45-year-old Larry West of voluntary manslaughter in the November 2021 beating that left 69-year-old Vester "Moe" Stringfield fatally injured. Jurors deliberated for roughly two hours after a day-and-a-half trial before returning the verdict. West is scheduled to be sentenced on June 1, 2026.
The verdict caps a long-running case in Morgan County Criminal Court, where jurors spent nearly two hours weighing the evidence before finding West guilty of voluntary manslaughter, according to WBIR. Prosecutors argued Stringfield was a vulnerable adult and that West's actions went beyond any reasonable claim of self-defense. Defense attorneys countered that West acted in self-defense and pushed necessity and duress defenses at trial, but jurors ultimately sided with the state.
According to a press release from the 9th Judicial District Attorney General, as posted by 3B Media News, deputies were called to Stringfield's home after a report of an "unwanted female." When they arrived, they found Stringfield badly injured and West standing beside the victim's car. Then-deputy Mike Rayder testified that West told him, "I beat the f..k outta him, and don't call me Larry, call me Abraham Lincoln." West was initially arrested on an aggravated assault charge, which was upgraded after Stringfield died about 13 days later.
The DA's release also notes that West underwent multiple mental health evaluations to determine his competency to stand trial and that he cycled through several attorneys before the case finally reached a jury.
What Investigators And The Medical Examiner Said
Medical examiner testimony described multiple blunt-force injuries to Stringfield's head, neck, and ribs. Prosecutors said those injuries lined up with West's statement that he kicked Stringfield while he was on the ground. First responders also removed a pocketknife from Stringfield at the scene. Stringfield survived for about two weeks after the attack but ultimately died from his injuries, according to WBIR.
Prosecutors told jurors that the mix of Stringfield's age, his medical issues, and the force used in the assault amounted to aggravated abuse of a vulnerable adult.
Sentencing, Statutes And What It Means
According to the DA's release, the voluntary manslaughter conviction is treated under the law in effect in 2021 as a Class C felony with a Range I sentencing exposure of three to six years, and West is scheduled to be sentenced on June 1, 2026, by Criminal Court Judge Jeff Wicks, as reported by 3B Media News.
The Tennessee Legislature amended the statute in 2023 to raise voluntary manslaughter to a Class B felony, effective July 1, 2023, increasing exposure for offenses committed after that date, according to the Tennessee General Assembly. Sentencing ranges for Range I Class C felonies are set out in Tennessee law; see Justia for the text of Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-112.
Defense, Context And Next Steps
West's attorneys argued self-defense and necessity at trial, telling jurors he had no choice in how the confrontation unfolded. The panel rejected those claims and returned the voluntary manslaughter verdict.
With sentencing set for June 1, 2026, the court is expected to weigh aggravating and mitigating factors before imposing a term within the statutory range. Any appeal or post-judgment filings would come after the sentence is handed down.
