Man who shot stepson, ex-wife gets 30 years in jail
DALLAS - A man convicted of shooting his former stepson and ex-wife was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Friday.
Richard will have to spend at least 15 years in prison before he's eligible for parole.
Richard opened fire on the family’s car in 2013, hitting Corey Dooley four times.
“We were saying, ‘Don't shoot. Pease don't shoot.’ As we are in the middle of saying that he starts to fire. He shoots me two times in my back and I remember thinking is this really happening,” said Corey, who was a 10th grader at South Grand Prairie High School at the time.
He lost a lot of blood and at one point only had about a 30 percent chance of survival, but he pulled through.
His mother, Themla Rishard, was not seriously injured and his younger brother was not hurt.
The couple was going through a divorce at the time and Richard was upset that Thelma had gone to one of Corey’s football games with his biological father.
He took the stand and explained what happened to those must decide his fate.
“I saw my ex-wife with that man right there. I saw her head on his shoulder,” he said.
He testified that he took the gun to the house because he suspected Corey’s biological father was there and might have a weapon. He also said he had been drinking.
“It was rapid fire, something I was taught in the military. I was hallucinating, wasn’t thinking straight,” he said.
Corey’s grandmother stormed out of the courtroom when Richard tried to apologize.
“I want to express how sorry I am. I loved them to death. I would never hurt them. I was there to protect them, to save them,” he said.
He is now facing up to 99 years in prison.