Springfield man pleads guilty to involuntary manslaughter in 2014 shooting death

A Springfield man has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in a 2014 shooting death, according to a news release from the Greene County prosecutor.

Gordon Knight, 53, pleaded guilty Thursday to accidentally shooting and killing Jackie Swearingin, 60, on Jan. 22, 2014.

Court documents say deputies responded to a home in the 7300 block of West Farm Road 136 after a shooting was reported on Jan. 22, 2014.

Knight told deputies he and Swearingin had been consuming alcohol and target shooting earlier that day. The two then went inside Knight’s home.

Knight told deputies that he was handing Swearingin a gun when it accidentally went off, shooting Swearingin in the face.

Court documents say an investigator had spoken with a friend of Swearingin, who said Knight had “previously threatened to kill Swearingin.”

Swearingin died at the scene from the injuries he suffered.

Knight entered a plea agreement for a seven-year sentence in the Missouri Department of Corrections, the maximum sentence for involuntary manslaughter in the first degree.

A sentencing hearing will be held at 2 p.m. Nov. 13.

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