A former fire chief was found guilty Wednesday of murdering a Pensacola auto body shop owner over a debt, Pensacola news outlets are reporting.

Brian Keith Easterling, 53, was found guilty by an Escambia County (Fla.) jury of the premeditated murder of 63-year-old Michael Evers in June 2022, according to WEAR. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Evidence presented at trial shows that Easterling was angry over a $25,000 loan Evers had yet to repay. The two men had been friends for 18 years, according to the Pensacola News Journal, and had often partnered in investing in car remodeling.

Easterling would rebuild Ford Mustangs, then Evers would paint them at his Pensacola shop. The two men would split whatever profits were made from the sale of the vehicles.

Easterling drove to Evers garage in early June to collect the $25,000. When Evers said he didn’t have the money, Easterling said he “snapped” and pulled out a gun. Surveillance video from the garage shows Easterling shooting Evers once in the head, according to WEAR.

Easterling is then seen searching the garage for money before he covered Evers’ body with a car cover, took Evers’ phone and fled in his vehicle. Police found Evers’ body three days later when they searched the shop on a welfare check.

Easterling was the fire chief for the Baker Volunteer Fire Department. Baker is an unincorporated community about 10 miles north of Crestview, Fla., in Escambia County.