A Beltzhoover man will serve at least 22 years in prison after pleading guilty on Tuesday to fatally shooting a man eight times in the head.

Le’Juane Powell, 30, pleaded guilty to third-degree murder in the death last year of Kenneth A. Lennex, 34, of Dravosburg.

Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Randal B. Todd sentenced Powell to 22 to 44 years in prison.

A co-defendant in the case, Deonte Donald Kidd, 29, who was charged with hindering prosecution, tampering with evidence, conspiracy and abuse of corpse, also pleaded guilty Tuesday.

He was given 2 years probation with the first 100 days on electronic home monitoring.

On Wednesday, Lennex’s mother, Cindy Lennex, said she was upset by Powell’s sentence.

“He shot my son eight times in the head and got slapped on the wrist,” she said. “The evidence against him was overwhelming.”

“We’re surprised and saddened to hear this,” said First Assistant District Attorney Rebecca Spangler. “The family was involved in the discussions and in agreement; the mother spoke at sentencing and expressed no disagreement.

“However, we understand these are very emotional times and we empathize with the family.”

According to the criminal complaint, Lennex’s body was found shortly after 9 a.m. on Jan. 26, 2023.

Pittsburgh police were called to a wooded area at Herrod and Bond streets in the city’s Elliot section that morning for the report of a dead person.

Lennex was found wrapped in a blanket with gunshot wounds to the head.

A few days earlier his girlfriend had reported him missing to McKeesport police.

Lennex had gone to a house on Kingsboro Street on Jan. 22, 2023 just after noon to smoke marijuana with Powell, according to a criminal complaint,.

Later that day, when Lennex stopped returning messages, his girlfriend went to the house to find him.

When Powell, whose nickname was “Weezy,” answered the door, the complaint said, he said Lennex wasn’t there, even though the victim’s car was parked there.

The girlfriend stayed outside the house for some time and while there, she later told investigators, she saw Powell leave with another man carrying a roll of carpet and what she said was a heavy object.

They returned without the carpet a minute or two later, she told police.

When Lennex continued not responding to calls and messages, his girlfriend reported him missing the next day. Signals from Lennex’s cell phone showed police he had been at the house on Kingsboro.

When police arrived at the residence with a search warrant, according to the criminal complaint, they found two guns, blood spatter in multiple places, spent bullets and damage. There were also black garbage bags containing blood and ballistic evidence.

They later found blood and other evidence in a car parked at the residence, including a large pool of it under the rear passenger seat.