A man was sentenced to death on Thursday in Texas for shooting and killing a police officer and a friend in a murder spree two years ago.
Brandon McCall, 28, was convicted of capital murder by a jury who deliberated over the case for nearly eight hours. McCall was sentenced for shooting his friend, Rene Gamez II, 30, and 37-year-old Richardson police officer David Sherrard in an armed ambush in 2018. Defense attorneys said McCall shot the men but argued the killings were unintentional, according to the Associated Press.
Killing of officer Sherrard in ambush
In February 2018, McCall shot Gamez in a apartment complex in north Dallas. Responding officers found the friend's body on a landing and entered a nearby apartment where they located McCall. As officer Sherrard entered the apartment, McCall opened fire and shot him in the chest. He then barricaded himself and fired his weapon for hours during the standoff with the police.
McCall later surrendered to police and was taken into custody. Reports suggest that he repeatedly said "sorry" when he was taken by the police.
Two videos were shown in the trial against him on Thursday; one was a body camera which shows the moment Sherrard was shot and the other shows McCall admitting to the murder.
The video of him admitting to the murder shows McCall lying in a hospital bed after the shootings and an officer reading his Miranda rights. After the officer asked him why he shot at the police, he was heard responding, "cause I wanted to."
Mississippi man gets death penalty for killing 8 in murder spree
McCall was sentenced to death on the same day a Mississippi man was given the death penalty for shooting and killing eight people in a murder spree in 2017.
Willie Cory Godbolt, 37, was convicted of capital murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, and armed robbery on Tuesday. Judge David Strong on Thursday ordered Godbolt's execution on July 15 in the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman.
A police report reveals Godbolt went to his in-laws' home and argued with his estranged wife about their children on May 27, 2017. A domestic disturbance call was reported, and a deputy who responded to the call saw Godbolt's mother-in-law and two others shot dead there. The next day, two young people were killed in a second house, and a married couple was killed in a third house
Other charges against him include attempted murder of deputy Timothy Kees, the kidnapping of LaPeatra Stafford and Xavier Bishop, and armed robbery for forcing Henry and Alfred Bracey to give him their car keys at gunpoint.
Blame the devil, says Godbolt
Godbolt delivered a speech that was heavy with religious references in the court, including blaming the devil for his actions. He said he wanted to be a better man, "but the devil came to kill and destroy. He wasn't going to let that be". Describing the shooting, he said: "My life came to a screeching halt," and that "I couldn't fight the battle that was raging inside me."
