TACOMA (AP) – A man has been sentenced to nearly four decades in prison for the shooting death of a Fort Lewis soldier. Even though 24-year-old Irvin Dale Carter Jr. was convicted of killing 24-year-old Julius Williams two years ago, he continued to protest his innocence before being sentenced Friday. Investigators say Williams had borrowed a handgun from Carter and lost it. Williams was absent without leave from Fort Lewis at the time. His body was found outside Bryant Montessori School in the Hilltop area of Tacoma on Sept. 8, 2006. Pierce County Superior Court Judge Thomas J. Felnagle says it’s as senseless a killing as any that has come before him. He sentenced Williams to 39 years and 8 months in prison, the high end of the standard range



