JEFFERSON COUNTY — A 37-year-old Mt. Vernon man was sentenced Thursday in Jefferson County Court to 80 years in prison for the 2018 shooting death of his brother.

A Jefferson County jury found Matthew Sloan guilty in July of First Degree Murder for shooting his brother David Sloan through a bedroom door of his rural Mt. Vernon home.

According to court records, the brothers had been drinking all day of July 4, 2018, and had a physical fight when they got to Matthew Sloan’s home.

Matt Sloan went inside the residence and into his room, with his brother following. Matt Sloan then shot David once they were inside.

The jury took just over two hours to return a guilty verdict in the case despite Matthew Sloan’s testimony that he believed he shot his brother in self-defense.

Due to the use of a firearm in the commission of the crime, Sloan was facing a sentence of between 45 years and life in prison for the murder of his brother.

Jefferson County State’s Attorney Sean Featherstun said after the verdict that the case was “a terrible thing” for everyone involved. He noted that Sarah Sloan lost her husband and that Matt Sloan’s parents lost a son, and Matt Sloan himself lost a brother. Featherstun says there was no one who felt good about the case or its outcome.