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Plea Deal Ends Fort Worth 1983 Murder Trial

FORT WORTH (AP) - A murder trial in a 31-year-old Fort Worth slaying case has ended with a plea deal.

A trial for 50-year-old Benjamin Bewley was entering a third day Thursday when attorneys said they'd reached an agreement where Bewley would plead guilty to the 1983 slaying of pawn shop owner Melvin Lavine during a robbery at his home. State District Judge Louis Sturns then sentenced Bewley to 15 years in prison.

Bewley's lawyer tells the Fort Worth Star-Telegram he'll become eligible for parole in five years.

DNA evidence found on a piece of broken glass door from Lavine's home tied Bewley to the slaying scene. At the time of his arrest last year, he was in a jail in Taylor County on a drunken driving charge.

(© Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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