A former police officer and NASA employee in Virginia will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars for killing his neighbor, a member of the Maryland National Guard, in a shooting that was entirely caught on a Ring doorbell camera.
According to local station FOX5, a Fairfax County judge sentenced Michael Hetle, 52 for shooting his next-door neighbor Javon Prather seven times just moments after the 24-year-old knocked on his front door.
The two neighbors had a very contentious relationship dating back to 2016 that culminated with Prather being shot while standing on the porch of Hetle’s home located on Bedstraw Court in Fairfax, the outlet reported.
During the trial, Hetle claimed that the shooting was in self-defense, despite the fact that the video reportedly showed Prather running away from his door when he saw the gun. Prosecutors reportedly said Prather was “executed.”
Video of the March 3, 2020 shooting was played in court before the jury found Hetle guilty on charges of first-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, according to FOX5.
The station aired footage of the shooting in the report below:
