Beaver County man to serve at least 36 years in prison for shooting Pennsylvania State Police trooper
A Beaver County man convicted of shooting Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Jonnie Schooley in 2022 was sentenced to at least 36 years in prison.
Damian Bradford was sentenced Wednesday. His maximum sentence is 73 years, TribLive news partner WTAE reported.
Bradford was convicted on multiple charges, including attempted criminal homicide, aggravated assault against an officer and firearms violations.
During his sentencing hearing, WTAE reported, Bradford apologized to Schooley and said the shooting was accidental.
Related:
• 7.29.2022: Pennsylvania state trooper shot in Aliquippa; suspect was shooter in high-profile 2005 killing
• 8.2.2022: Feds file detainer to keep Beaver County man accused of shooting trooper in custody
Schooley, who worked in the Beaver barracks, was shot in the leg when he and another trooper, Shawn Palmer, were investigating a disturbance at Aliquippa’s Franklin Mini Mart in 2022. According to a criminal complaint, Bradford brandished a handgun at several people inside the store and confronted another man outside. When troopers approached Bradford, he began to fight with them and fired his pistol once.
Police said he also attempted to take Palmer’s gun and Taser. Patrons inside the store helped Palmer get Bradford under control and take him into custody.
Bradford had been released from federal prison just a month before.
He spent 14 years in federal prison previously for killing a Mercer County urologist whose wife was having an affair with him.
Julia Felton is a TribLive reporter covering Pittsburgh City Hall and other news in and around Pittsburgh. A La Roche University graduate, she joined the Trib in 2020. She can be reached at jfelton@triblive.com.
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