ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — A 41-year-old Asheville woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to second-degree murder in the shooting death of her boyfriend and was sentenced to more than 10 years in state prison.
Jessica Barnes Ferland entered the guilty plea in Buncombe County Superior Court before Judge Jacqueline Grant. Grant sentenced Ferland to an active prison term of 125 to 157 months in the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction.
The charge stems from a shooting that occurred shortly after midnight Oct. 3, 2024, on Laurel Loop in West Asheville. Asheville police responding to reports of gunfire found 26-year-old Jaquan Devaughen Bowen with a gunshot wound to the head. Ferland was at the scene holding paper towels to Bowen’s head in an attempt to stop the bleeding, police said…