Ezekiel Gilbert, 30, facing life in jail for the 2009 death of Lenora Frago, 23, near his San Antonio home, got off even though he shot her with an AK-47. But a jury said his actions were justified under state law.
A Texas john who shot a Craigslist escort dead after she took $150 of his cash but refused to have sex has been cleared of murder.
Ezekiel Gilbert, 30, was facing life in jail for the 2009 Christmas Eve killing of Lenora Frago, 23, outside his San Antonio apartment.
Gilbert used a AK-47 assault rifle to spray his alleged victim's car with bullets as she was driven away at 4:15 a.m. by her alleged pimp, Christopher Perkins.
Frago was hit in the neck.
Left paralyzed and brain damaged from the shooting, she was hooked up to a respirator for several months until her family pulled the plug in July 2010.
A Bexar County Texas court jury on Thursday took 11 hours to acquit Gilbert — saying his actions were justified because he was simply trying to retrieve stolen property.
KSAT Ezekiel Gilbert, 30, was acquitted of murder in the 2009 shooting of Lenora Ivie Frago, a Craiglist escort, who died in 2010.
Gilbert fired an AK-47 at the victim's car as she was driven away by her alleged pimp, Christopher Perkins.
This is because state residents are permitted "to use deadly force to recover property during a nighttime theft."
Gilbert's defense attorneys argued he did not intend to kill Frago and only wanted to blow out the car tires and get back his cash.
They also said the shooting was justified, as he thought sex was included as part of the fee.
Gilbert hugged his attorneys and thanked God, his lawyers, and the jury following his acquittal, reports My San Antonio.
"I sincerely regret the loss of the life of Ms. Frago," he said outside the court room.
"I've been in a mental prison the past four years of my life. I have nightmares. If I see guns on TV where people are getting killed, I change the channel," he added.
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