Larry Cowart (Courtesy/Smith County Jail)

A Tyler man pleaded guilty Thursday and was sentenced to 13 years in prison for manslaughter in the June 9 death of a man shot in the chest at a shop in rural Smith County. 

Larry Paul Cowart, 40, originally was charged with murder in the shooting death of Heath Bearden, a man he knew. 

Cowart accepted a plea deal from the state and pleaded guilty to the manslaughter charge and waived his right to a jury trial.

Judge Christi Kennedy in the 114th District Court accepted the plea deal and the sentence. 

Bearden’s family sobbed and cried during the hearing and read victim impact statements after Cowart’s sentence was announced.  

Deputies were dispatched to Cowart’s property in the 15500 block of County Road 1145 after Bearden was shot in the chest. 

Deputies learned Bearden was being taken to the hospital in a private vehicle. The vehicle was found near the intersection of West Erwin Street and Loop 323 in Tyler. 

EMS was called to the scene and Bearden was pronounced dead at the scene. 

Cowart faced up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 for the second-degree felony charge. 

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