San Diego
A man who pleaded guilty to attempted murder in the shooting of an off-duty Huntington Beach police officer was sentenced Thursday to 54 years in state prison.
Tommy Joe Gamble, 24, pleaded guilty last year to the attempted murder of Robert Barr, a 13-year veteran of the Huntington Beach Police Department who was vacationing in San Diego with his fiancee and two daughters.
Barr was shot Aug. 4, 1990, at the Hampton Inn in Kearny Mesa during a robbery. He was wounded in an arm and a leg by two shotgun blasts.
Gamble also pleaded guilty Sept. 10 to 12 armed robberies that occurred throughout San Diego County. He was sentenced by Municipal Judge Charles Patrick, who is sitting temporarily as a Superior Court judge.
Two co-defendants in the case, one adult and one man who was a juvenile at the time of the crimes, also pleaded guilty to several charges and have received lesser sentences.
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