(AP) -- SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) -- A Springfield man is headed to prison for shooting a classmate to death.
A Greene County judge convicted 20-year-old James C. Duke of first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the March 2011 death of 17-year-old Kody Ray. The mandatory sentence is life in prison.
Ray was shot to death on his porch while a 5-year-old's birthday party was being held at his home.
Prosecutors say Duke shot Ray because of a disagreement between Ray and another teenager, Jordan Martin. The dispute led to at least two fights at Hillcrest High School.
Martin is also charged with first-degree murder. Prosecutors say he sent Duke to talk to Ray because he knew Duke had a gun.
Duke claimed that he shot Ray in self-defense because he thought Ray had a gun.
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