Current:Home > MarketsMan convicted of murder in death of Washington police officer shot by deputy sentenced to 29 years-LoTradeCoin
Man convicted of murder in death of Washington police officer shot by deputy sentenced to 29 years
View Date:2024-12-23 22:01:18
VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) — A Washington state man found guilty of murder for his role in the 2022 death of a police officer who was mistakenly shot by a sheriff’s deputy was sentenced Friday to 29 years in prison.
A Clark County Superior Court judge sentenced Julio Segura of Yakima in the death of Vancouver police officer Donald Sahota, The Columbian reported. More than a dozen people gave statements about Sahota in court before the sentencing.
A Clark County jury last month convicted Segura, 23, of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, robbery, possession of a stolen vehicle and eluding police. He was acquitted of attempted murder, attempted kidnapping and first-degree burglary.
The jury deliberated for eight hours after a trial that lasted several weeks.
Sahota, 52, was off duty and at home in the city of Battle Ground on Jan. 29, 2022, the day he was fatally shot. Law enforcement from multiple agencies had chased Segura to Sahota’s neighborhood in connection with an armed robbery at a gas station.
Segura stabbed Sahota as the two struggled in Sahota’s driveway. Moments later, Clark County sheriff’s Deputy Jonathan Feller arrived and mistakenly shot Sahota. Coroners said Sahota died from gunshot wounds to the torso.
Prosecutors argued that Segura caused Sahota’s death by committing or attempting to commit other crimes, saying he “engaged in conduct which created a grave risk of death to any person.”
During Thursday’s hearing, Sahota’s wife, Dawnese Sahota, told Judge Nancy Retsinas of her husband’s resilience and work ethic. She said her 33 years with him were not enough.
“This tragedy that is now my reality has left me brokenhearted,” she said. “Shattered.”
She said she holds Segura 100% responsible for her husband’s death by creating the confusion that led to his shooting.
Vancouver Police Chief Jeff Mori told the judge of Sahota’s compassion as a trainer for the agency and the way he always taught officers to treat the people they encounter as they, too, would want to be treated.
Sahota’s mother, Darlene Baun, shared memories of her son’s childhood and their struggle with abuse and homelessness when he was a boy.“I’m so proud of my son. He went through so much, and he always tried to do good,” she said. “He loved helping people.”
Prosecutor Tony Golik asked the judge to sentence Segura at the top of the sentencing range. He called Segura’s actions “dangerous, violent and self-centered.”
Segura apologized to the Sahota family at the hearing.
“I understand there’s nothing I can say to alleviate all that pain that I caused,” Segura said. “There’s nothing I can say, except that from the bottom of my heart, I am sorry.”
Segura’s defense team submitted about 1,200 pages of records detailing Segura’s tumultuous upbringing with stints in foster care and counseling. They asked the judge to consider a shorter sentence.
veryGood! (685)
Related
- Mississippi expects only a small growth in state budget
- The world economy will slow next year because of inflation, high rates and war, OECD says
- UK’s Sunak ramps up criticism of Greek leader in Parthenon Marbles spat
- iCarly’s Jennette McCurdy Details Past Pregnancy Scare
- 2 credit unions in Mississippi and Louisiana are planning to merge
- Christmas 2023 shipping deadlines: What you need to know about USPS, UPS, FedEx times.
- Rapper Young Thug’s trial on racketeering conspiracy and gang charges begins in Atlanta
- Margaret Huntley Main, the oldest living Tournament of Roses queen, dies at 102
- Advance Auto Parts is closing hundreds of stores in an effort to turn its business around
- Putin accuses the West of trying to ‘dismember and plunder’ Russia in a ranting speech
Ranking
- World War II veteran reflects on life as he turns 100
- Taylor Swift is Spotify’s most-streamed artist of 2023, ending Bad Bunny’s 3-year reign
- How to turn off iPhone's new NameDrop feature, the iOS 17 function authorities are warning about
- Fantasy football Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: 15 players to play or bench in Week 13
- 32-year-old Maryland woman dies after golf cart accident
- British inquiry finds serious failings at hospitals where worker had sex with more than 100 corpses
- Mediators look to extend truce in Gaza on its final day, with one more hostage swap planned
- Family of Los Angeles deputy killed in ambush shooting plans to sue county over forced overtime
Recommendation
-
Georgia remains part of College Football Playoff bracket projection despite loss
-
Israel compares Hamas to the Islamic State group. But the comparison misses the mark in key ways
-
Christmas 2023 shipping deadlines: What you need to know about USPS, UPS, FedEx times.
-
Argentina’s president-elect tells top Biden officials that he’s committed to freedom
-
'Serial swatter': 18-year-old pleads guilty to making nearly 400 bomb threats, mass shooting calls
-
Emirati-designated COP28 leader forcefully denies report UAE wanted to seek oil deals in summit
-
Timothée Chalamet Reveals If He Asked Johnny Depp for Wonka Advice
-
Dinosaur extinction: New study suggests they were killed off by more than an asteroid