A St Joseph man has pleaded guilty to firearms charges stemming from a shooting in the parking lot at the North Belt Walmart in January.

Dewayne Burch was charged with carrying a concealed weapon without a permit. He pleaded guilty on Monday before Buchanan County Circuit Judge Patrick Robb, who scheduled sentencing May 11.

According to investigators, Mr Burch shot 29-year-old Richard Ellege in the abdomen after a verbal altercation just after 8pm January 19 in the North Belt Walmart parking lot.