Man Given Life Term for Shooting Lawyer

A man caught on videotape shooting a cowering lawyer outside the Van Nuys courthouse was sentenced Friday to life in prison.

William Strier, 66, appeared in court lying on a hospital gurney because of a long-standing back injury. He asked Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Rand S. Rubin that he be allowed to address the court. But when he veered off track, saying that a cameraman at the scene of the shooting should have stopped him, Rubin ordered him into the hallway, where he listened to the remainder of the proceedings through a speaker.

The 2003 assault on attorney Gerald E. Curry, as the lawyer tried to take cover behind a narrow tree, was taped by news crews covering the Robert Blake trial and broadcast nationally. Strier walked casually from the scene but was tackled by a Traffic Court judge.

Curry was the attorney for a trust that Strier felt was denying him money. A witness said he heard Strier say, “That’s what you get for stealing my money.”

Strier’s lawyers said he had needed immediate access to his trust fund to pay for a back operation, but was barred by the trustee. The trust was established as part of a personal injury settlement. Strier had never met Curry, and asked him his name outside the courthouse before he started firing.

During Friday’s sentencing, Rubin noted that Strier shot a neighbor four times in 1969, for which he served 90 days and two years’ probation.

Strier’s lawyer in the Curry shooting said he was impaired by the painkiller Demerol, but Rubin was not impressed.

“I think the jury saw through the fact that he claimed that he took all these pills. It worked for him the last time. It didn’t work this time,” Rubin said.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Jim Falco said Strier tried “to execute Mr. Curry” and has never expressed remorse or accepted responsibility. “He continues to make excuses,” Falco said.

Curry, who attended the sentencing, said he was satisfied. “My main concern is my safety and my family’s safety,” he said.

Strier, who was convicted in January of attempted murder, was sentenced to life in prison plus 25 years, and Curry said he believes Strier will serve at least 29 years. “If he survives, he will be a very old man. I’m satisfied we will be safe.”