HOUSTON (AP) - The Latest on the case of the husband of a former sheriff’s deputy convicted of murder for a deadly confrontation (all times local):
8:15 p.m.
A prosecutor says the husband of a former sheriff’s deputy was given an appropriate sentence of 25 years in prison for the strangulation death of a man the couple confronted outside a Houston-area restaurant.
Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg says she hopes Terry Thompson’s case deters people from resorting to violence to resolve their conflicts.
The same jury that convicted Thompson of murder on Monday sentenced him Wednesday.
Prosecutors argued Thompson wanted to kill 24-year-old John Hernandez and kept him in a chokehold after he stopped resisting. Thompson had confronted Hernandez about urinating in the parking lot of a Denny’s restaurant in May 2017.
Scot Courtney, Thompson’s attorney, said he was disappointed by the sentence.
Thompson’s wife, Chauna, faces a murder trial in April.
During a victim impact statement, Maria Toral, Hernandez’s wife, told Thompson that she would forgive him if he repents for what he did.
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6:35 p.m.
The husband of a former sheriff’s deputy has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for the strangulation death of a man the couple confronted outside a Houston-area restaurant.
The same jury that convicted Terry Thompson of murder sentenced him on Wednesday.
Jurors denied a request by Thompson’s attorney to find that he acted with sudden passion and was unable to control his anger.
Prosecutors argued Thompson wanted to kill 24-year-old John Hernandez and kept him in a chokehold after he stopped resisting.
Thompson’s attorney countered he was only defending himself after being punched.
The incident began after Thompson confronted Hernandez about urinating in the parking lot of a Denny’s restaurant in May 2017.
Thompson’s wife, Chauna, faces a murder trial in April.
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11:45 a.m.
A jury is deciding how to sentence a man in the strangulation death of another man outside a Houston-area restaurant.
Jurors got the case Wednesday morning after closing arguments in the punishment phase of Terry Thompson’s trial.
Prosecutors asked jurors to sentence Thompson to life in prison for the killing 24-year-old John Hernandez in May 2017.
Thompson’s defense attorney asked jurors to find he acted in sudden passion and was unable to control his anger - making him eligible for a lesser sentence of two years to 20 years.
The jury convicted Thompson of murder on Monday.
Thompson and his wife, former Harris County sheriff’s deputy Chauna Thompson, confronted Hernandez after seeing him urinating in the parking lot of a Denny’s restaurant.
Chauna Thompson faces a murder trial in April.
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