Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

A Port Arthur man found guilty of murder in the 2019 shooting death of a Beaumont man after the two entered into an altercation at a Beaumont restaurant has been sentenced to 46 years in prison.

Proceedings resumed Friday morning in the 252nd District Court under the direction of Judge Raquel West, where the jury met to determine the punishment for Martin Vincent Pettway.

The 23-year-old shot Jesse Rodriguez on Aug. 17, 2019, while Rodriguez was waiting at a stoplight at the intersection of Dowlen Road and Eastex Freeway.

Pettway was in a vehicle behind Rodriguez when five rounds were shot from the backseat window. One hit Rodriguez in the back of the head.

The two had gotten into a verbal altercation at nearby Cicis after Rodriguez bumped into someone’s chair.

Following two days of testimony, the jury began deliberating just after 10 a.m. Thursday.

They returned with a sentence at about 2:45 p.m.