San Diego

A La Jolla woman who was convicted of fatally shooting her male roommate was sentenced Thursday to five years’ probation and a year in a work-furlough program.

Marjorie Cole, 48, was also ordered to perform 1,500 hours of community service by Superior Court Judge Michael D. Wellington, who could have sentenced Cole to six years in state prison.

Cole was convicted June 12 of involuntary manslaughter with the use of a gun in the death of Christopher Lockwood, 29.

During her two-week trial, Cole testified that she shot Lockwood in self-defense during a May 16, 1988, argument in her bedroom concerning a real estate transaction.

Prosecutors argued that Cole should be convicted of first-degree murder because she had the weapon in the pocket of her bathrobe at the time of the shooting. However, Wellington instructed the jury that Cole did not have the intent or the malice necessary for such a finding.

During the sentencing hearing, Wellington said Cole’s case is unusual because she is “a hypersensitive woman” who was provoked during the argument.

Wellington said that the victim was “far less than ethical in his real estate dealings,” but that Cole was “unreasonably fearful” when she shot Lockwood.