A man who admitted guilt in a deadly 2020 shooting at Whiskey River Pub is scheduled to be sentenced Monday.

Shannon Ward is scheduled to appear in Warren Circuit Court to be sentenced on charges of murder and first-degree wanton endangerment, which stemmed from the death of Ellis Wayne Souders.

Surveillance camera footage from the bar on River Street showed Ward, 45, of Elizabethtown, shooting Souders, 42, of Bowling Green, once in the head on Sept. 5, 2020.

Souders was pronounced dead at the scene and Ward, who was tackled by witnesses moments after the shooting, was arrested by the Bowling Green Police Department.

Ward has pleaded guilty to the charges and opted to have a sentencing trial before Warren Circuit Judge Steve Wilson.

The murder charge carries a penalty of 20-50 years in prison or life with no chance at parole for at least 20 years, while the first-degree wanton endangerment charge is punishable by 1-5 years in prison.

A total of 16 witnesses testified at the two-day sentencing trial last month, and footage from the event was played during the proceedings.

Ward testified on the trial’s second day.

Answering questions from his attorney, Alyson McDavitt of the Department of Public Advocacy, Ward said he remembered little from his time at the bar other than going outside periodically to smoke.

Ward also testified having little memory of his interactions with BGPD officers following his arrest.

Asked by McDavitt last month how he felt about what happened at the bar, Ward worked to articulate a response.

“I don’t know, I never thought I’d be the one to hurt or kill somebody, be the one responsible for so many peoples’ heartache,” Ward said. “I don’t have the words to express it … there’s nothing that I can say that wouldn’t be hollow. If I had a moment in time I could take back, it would be that.”

Several witnesses who were at the bar the night of the shooting testified that they kept a wary eye on Ward, who they did not know and appeared to them to be acting confrontationally.

Many of those witnesses called by Warren County Commonwealth’s Attorney Chris Cohron described Souders as an easygoing person who helped new employees at Whiskey River learn their responsibilities and who tried to resolve disputes while maintaining an affable personality.

Several prosecution witnesses said Souders answered to the nickname “Sweet Tooth.”

According to police records and courtroom testimony, witnesses at the bar said Souders did not pose a threat to Ward when the shooting occurred, and that in an effort to calm any budding tensions, Souders bought a drink for Ward moments before the shooting.

Ward’s girlfriend, Kelly Lowe, testified that the trip to Whiskey River was unusual for the couple, who had spent the day at a Nashville hospital where Lowe underwent tests for an illness.

A psychologist retained by Ward’s defense team to evaluate him said in court last month that Ward, a National Guard and Army veteran who served combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, exhibited all the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Ward stopped participating in group therapy sessions when the COVID-19 pandemic brought in-person sessions to a halt, and a friend of his was killed in a motorcycle crash in the week before the shooting, according to prior testimony.

Ward testified last month that he carried a handgun on him whenever he left home and felt “exposed” without it.