AFTER A HEATED ARGUMENT, HE FATALLY SHOT HIS GIRLFRIEND SIX TIMES IN HIS DAUGHTERS' PRESENCE.

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A Rhode Island man shot his girlfriend to death after a heated argument. Now, he will never walk free again.

Providence Superior Court Justice Richard Raspallo handed Derek Sheppard, 37, a life term in prison for the shooting death of Bernadette Ortiz, 50. Sheppard pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder and one count of carrying a pistol without a license.

“Once again, an innocent victim died at the hands of someone who chose to resolve an argument with a gun. The defendant’s two young daughters lost both a friend in the victim, and a father, who will now spend the rest of his life in prison, said Attorney General Neronha, according to the Office of the Rhode Island Attorney General.

During the late hours of Feb. 9, 2022, officers responded to the home shared by the couple and the defendant’s two daughters on Harold Street after reports of a shooting. Sheppard, who had just returned from work, got into a heated argument with the victim before she asked him to leave. Instead, the argument escalated. Soon, the defendant shot the 50-year-old Ortiz six times before fleeing the scene in his car.

“Jelissa Sheppard, hearing the commotion, ran into Miss Ortiz’s bedroom, upon entering the bedroom, she saw Miss Ortiz on the floor, bleeding from a cut above her eye, she saw [Sheppard] standing a few feet away, point his gun and fire,” said Prosecutor Jonathan Burke during the sentencing hearing, reported ABC 6.

After police officers discovered the defendant had fled the scene, they used a License Plate Reader (LPR) technology to track Sheppard’s car. They apprehended him in Pooler, Georgia, two days later. There, the defendant also informed officers he was in possession of a 9mm Glock semi-automatic handgun in his car. Later, authorities established the gun was the same murder weapon used to carry out the homicide.

Raspallo sentenced Sheppard to an additional ten years. The defendant was ordered to serve both terms consecutively.

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