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2 men sentenced to 12 to 24 years for drug-fueled slaying in Bethlehem

Published  July 30, 2018 3:00pm EDT
US
FOX 29 Philadelphia

BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) -- Two Pennsylvania men who pleaded guilty to killing a man during a drug-fueled night of partying and then stuffing his body in a car trunk have been sentenced to prison.

Thirty-three-year-old Charles Yocum Jr. and 31-year-old James Heimbach were both sentenced Monday to 12- to 24-year terms on third-degree murder pleas.

Both apologized for the death of 28-year-old Joseph Goda. Authorities say he was bludgeoned with a shotgun at a Bethlehem apartment in September 2016 after the three used flakka, a synthetic drug similar to bath salts.

MORE: Duo pleads guilty in bludgeoning of man found in car trunk

Authorities said the defendants wrapped his body in a rug and planned to dump it in the ocean but ended up in the Poconos.

Northampton County prosecutors said neither acknowledged killing Goda, and proving premeditated murder would have been difficult given the drug use.