The man accused of killing a former Knoxville bartender will spend at least 28 years in prison, before any possibility of parole.
Tracy Kauffman, 51, was sentenced in Las Vegas court Tuesday afternoon, on first degree murder and weapons charges. In November 2011, Phillip Wells was found dead with multiple gunshot wounds.
Some of Wells' friends in Knoxville watched the sentencing and Kauffman's apology. They said it came with little to no emotion.
"How hurt and sorry I am for the hurt and pain I caused you," Kauffman said in court. "I know there's nothing that I can do or say what has been done."
"I believe he had some remorse for what he's done, but I felt at the end it got cold and kind of closed off," said Wells' friend and former co-worker Jeff Hamby.
"If you're planning this for two months, then you knew the outcome. So I don't believe you're sorry at all," Zena Wilson said, another friend of Wells.
Friends and family, including Knoxville man Matt Killingsworth, were at the hearing. Hamby said Kauffman could have shown more remorse, when reading his apology to loved ones.
"And he just sits down. 'There's nothing that I can say or do to change what has been done'... and sits down," Hamby watched the tape.
Kauffman would have to serve at least 20 years for the first degree murder charge before he's eligible for parole. However, he would also need to serve a consecutive 8-year minimum for a weapons charge before he could get out of prison. The earliest he can be released is 2040.