A convicted felon found guilty in June of shooting another man twice in the leg was sentenced to 20 years in prison Friday, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.
Christopher Lorenzo Hatcher, 48, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for Attempted Manslaughter, 5 years for being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm, and 5 years for Shooting into an Occupied Dwelling. Circuit Court Judge William Henry ordered those sentences be served consecutively, or back-to-back.
Prosecutor Brea Dearing called 8 witnesses, including the victim who was shot twice in the leg and once in the hand, along with evidence like video surveillance gathered by Panama City police to prove her case at the June 19 trial.
“Panama City police did a good job investigating this case so we could prosecute this defendant and get him in prison where he belongs,” Dearing said. “This easily could have ended with someone dying, and Panama City is a safer place today with this sentence.”
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The testimony showed that on July 27, 2022, the victim had spoken to Hatcher in the defendant’s room. Later, Hatcher went to the victim’s room, barged inside and fired several shots before fleeing.
The video showed blood on his shirt as he ran. Panama City police captured him about 5 blocks away shirtless, but still wearing the same pants as in the surveillance video.
Basford thanked the Panama City Police Department for its work on the case and the quick identification and capture of the suspect.
For more information, contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or call 850-381-7454.