SPENCER, IA (Northwestiowanow) — A South Dakota man will face life in prison following a murder in Spencer.

According to court records, 44-year-old Wade St. John Sr. was sentenced in Clay County on Tuesday, January 20 to life in prison, the mandatory penalty for First-Degree Murder, a Class A Felony. St. John Sr. had been arrested following an incident that occurred on August 26 of last year.

Spencer Police responded to an alley west of the 200 block of Grand Avenue, where they found 38-year-old Djay Loudner of Spencer unconscious and severely injured. Loudner was later pronounced dead. Investigators reviewed surveillance video showing an altercation between St. John Sr. and Loudner in which St. John Sr. struck Loudner multiple times until he became unconscious.

Previously, a Clay County jury found St. John Sr. guilty in the murder of Djay Loudner on December 9.