(Danville, Va.) – More than five years after Antwan Rucker was found shot to death in a motel parking lot, a Danville man is headed to prison for life for his murder.

Pierre Antoine Dixon was sentenced in Danville Circuit Court to life plus 26 years for the murder of the 35-year-old Rucker.

The sentence mirrors the recommendations of a Danville jury that convicted Rucker of murder and related charges at the conclusion of a four-day trial in November. Dixon was found guilty of first-degree murder, robbery, and two counts of use of a firearm in commission of a felony. The panel deliberated for nearly four hours before reaching its verdict.

Dixon was originally charged with capital murder in the Nov. 9, 2013 shooting death. Rucker’s body was found slumped over in his Mercedes outside the Innkeeper North motel on the Piney Forest Road.
Prosecutors say Rucker was lured to the motel, where he was robbed and murdered.

Judge Joseph Milam imposed the exact sentence recommended by the Danville jury.