No contest plea in killing of McCook man

McCOOK, Neb. — Sentencing is set April for an Indianola man who could face 40 years in prison after pleading no contest to manslaughter and witness tampering in the killing of a McCook man in October 2020.

Alva C. Decker, 35, pleaded no contest to manslaughter and no contest to conspiracy to commit witness tampering and was found guilty on both counts.

The manslaughter charge was amended from first-degree murder and a charge of use of a firearm to commit a felony was dismissed under a plea agreement.

Decker was charged in the kill of Steven Lee Weaver, 30, McCook, in an incident Oct. 8, 2020, west of Indianola, where his brother, Charles Edward Decker, 36, was killed in a motor vehicle accident.

Decker remains in jail awaiting sentencing at 1 p.m. April 17, when he could face 35 to 40 years in prison.