By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Staff Writer

COLUMBIANA – A 37-year-old Columbiana man was found guilty of murder by a jury on Aug. 18 for a crime committed on July 3, 2014.

Dennis Allen Little was arrested on July 10, 2014 and charged with the murder of Johnny Lee Patterson, and a little more than two years later has been found guilty for that crime.

According to court documents, Little pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect before the trial.

The trial started Aug. 15 and took a short four days before the jury came back with their guilty verdict.

According to documents, Little had a history of arrests including two felony convictions and was also on probation in Shelby County for second-degree assault at the time of the murder.

Sentencing for Little is scheduled for Sept. 29, 2016, at 1:30 p.m.

It was determined that little used a multi-tool knife to kill the 65-year-old Patterson, whose body was found on the morning of July 4, 2014 in Columbiana.

Little was originally arrested for a public intoxication charge on that same day and then later charged with the murder.