Man Gets Maximum 22-Year Term for Killing Driver Who Cut Him Off
A student convicted of fatally shooting another driver for cutting him off in traffic received the maximum 22-year sentence.
“I guess you have to suffer the consequences of what you do, and let this be a lesson to all those teen-agers out there who want to be gangsters,” the handcuffed Talley Boatwright said as bailiffs led him away Thursday.
Judge David Wiggins told Boatwright, 20, that he was sentencing him to the maximum prison term because he could find no justification for the shooting.
The victim, 40-year-old Patrick Lee, was driving about 80 m.p.h., weaving in and out of traffic on Interstate 95 on April 17, a passenger in Boatwright’s pickup testified.
Lee cut in front of Boatwright and slammed on the brakes, the passenger said. Boatwright fired from about 50 feet behind, hitting Lee once in the head.
Other witnesses said Boatwright pursued Lee for more than two miles before shooting him.
Boatwright was convicted of manslaughter with a firearm Sept. 22.
He could be eligible for parole in less than five years, the prosecutor said.
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