A US pharmacist convicted of murder in the shooting death of a teenager who tried to rob the pharmacy where he worked has been sentenced to life in prison.
Jerome Ersland, 59, was giving the life sentence with the possibility of parole yesterday in spite of his defence attorney and supporters' pleas that he be set free.
Ersland showed no emotion as District Judge Ray Elliott imposed the sentence recommended by a 12-member jury that found him guilty of first-degree murder in the May 19, 2009, shooting death of 16-year-old Antwun Parker during an attempted robbery at the Reliable Discount Pharmacy in south Oklahoma City.
Ersland claimed he was defending himself and two female co-workers when he shot Parker after he and a second teenager came into the pharmacy wearing ski masks and demanding money and drugs. Parker, who was unarmed, was struck in the head and knocked out. Ersland chased the second armed teen, Jevontai Ingram, now 16, out of the store.
Prosecutors said Ersland was justified in firing the first shot but went too far when he grabbed a second gun and fired five more bullets into Parker's abdomen, wounds that the Medical Examiner's Office said killed him. Ersland claimed the unconscious teen was still moving.
Ersland, shackled at the hands and feet in a jail-issued jumpsuit, stood before Elliott while defence attorney Irven Box asked the judge to suspend the life sentence. When the judge asked if he had anything to say, Ersland replied: "I don't have anything to say. Thank you."
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