Ex-police officer, Aaron Dean, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for the fatal shooting of Atatiana Jefferson.
According to ABC News, Dean will spend the next 11 years, 10 months, and 12 days in prison, and because his sentence extends beyond a decade, he isn’t eligible for probation. The jury deliberated for 13 hours before deciding on the manslaughter verdict, as he initially faced a felony murder charge that would’ve sent him to prison for life with a $10,000 fine on top of that.
“My sister did not do anything wrong. She was in her home,” the slain victim’s sister, Ashley Carr, said in victim impact statements after the sentencing.
“She was murdered.”
However, the former officer reportedly showed zero emotion toward Carr in court.
“I pity your ignorance. You do not know enough to be ashamed; you’re not self-aware enough to understand your responsibility for this evil act,” the young woman later added.
Dean was then led out of the courtroom by the sheriff. He had previously taken the stand claiming he was scared for his life while staring down the barrel of Jefferson’s gun before she was killed, but his excuse wasn’t enough for prosecutors.
As previously reported by News Onyx, the Texas woman was gunned down in 2019. While playing video games in her home with her eight-year-old nephew, she became alarmed by suspicious noises outside and took her gun out of her purse. Officers, including Dean, responded to a call about her open front door, and according to bodycam footage, he saw her through her window. As such, he ordered her to put her hands up, and before giving her time to respond– he shot her through the window. He since removed himself from the police force and was arrested.
During her recent impact statement, Carr also called her sister “a beautiful flower just starting to bloom.” The victim’s brother, Adarius, additionally testified that his sister was a caring woman who moved to back home to Fort Worth and cared for her nephew because the young boy’s mom and grandmother were hospitalized with heart problems.
