A Butler man was sentenced Thursday to jail with immediate parole after pleading guilty in November to helping burn and hide the body of a woman murdered by his friend in June 2017.

Prosecutors offered James Howard-George, 26, a plea deal after he provided damaging testimony in the October murder trial of Ishemer Ramsey.

Howard-George agreed to plead guilty to charges of abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence, both misdemeanors, for his role in helping Ramsey hide Melissa Barto's body in Lawrence County in 2017.

On Thursday, Common Pleas Judge Timothy McCune sentenced Howard-George to time already served up to 36 months in prison. Howard-George had been in Butler County Prison from his arrest June 13, 2017, until Nov. 12, 2019.

Howard-George's testimony helped solidify Ramsey's murder conviction, according to Assistant District Attorney Terri Schultz, who prosecuted both cases.

In return, Schultz agreed to drop the charge of conspiracy to commit criminal homicide, adding that the charge would have been difficult to prove.

On Thursday, Howard-George made no statement. After being sentenced, he embraced his public defender, Charles Nedz, and left the courtroom.

Ramsey was found guilty several days after Howard-George testified and was sentenced to life in prison plus two to four years.

During Ramsey's trial, Howard-George testified that he didn't conspire with Ramsey to kill Barto.

While he admitted to learning about Barto's death after it occurred, he also testified that Ramsey forced him at gunpoint to help him dispose of her body.

“He told me that what happened to her is going to happen to me,” Howard-George testified.

Asked during the trial by Christopher Capozzi, Ramsey's lawyer, about his motive, Howard-George said his testimony wasn't made in exchange for a lenient deal.

“I'm not getting anything for this,” Howard-George said at the time. “I don't expect the (district attorney) to do anything. The only person I expect anything from is my lawyer.”