A judge in Cheasapeake, VA sentenced former security guard Jonathan Cromwell yesterday to 30 years in prison in the 2017 killing of a grandfather who was playing Pokemon Go, reports WTKR.
Prosecutors say Cromwell, 23, shot and killed Jiansheng Chen, 60, after he pulled his van into the parking area of an apartment complex Cromwell was patrolling.
Cromwell testified Chen had previously been barred from the complex, and that he shot Chen in self-defense as he drove his van towards him.
“He died for no reason,” prosecutor Lori Galbraith said, according to the Virginia Pilot.
The Eastern Virginia chapter of the Chinese American Association and the local chapter of the Organization of Chinese Americans issued a joint statement.
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“This tragedy has no winner,” the written statement reads. “May God (comfort) both families.”
A jury convicted Cromwell of second-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
Cromwell plans to appeal the verdict.
“Well it’s not fair, because he shouldn’t have been convicted of anything,“ said Cromwell attorney Andrew Sacks, to WAVY.com.
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