Man gets 15- to 19-year prison term in nonfatal shooting on courthouse steps
A man accused of opening fire on two individuals he knew on the steps outside a North Carolina courthouse in 2014 entered an Alford plea Monday to two counts of attempted first-degree murder and was sentenced to about 15 to 19 years in prison.
Brandon Morris, 33, had previously himself been a target of gunshots and believed someone he knew was trying to kill him, his lawyer told the judge in the Edgecombe County Superior Court case. So, believing it was him or them, Morris had researched when the victims would be at the Nash County Courthouse, attorney Terry Alford said, and shot them there, the Wilson Times reports.
Morris was fortunate the victims survived, or he would have faced murder charges, senior Judge Milton Fitch Jr. said.
A co-defendant is still awaiting trial in the courthouse shooting case.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Alibi clears man arrested in courthouse shooting; two others arrested”
