CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A Nueces County jury opted for the maximum sentence in the case of Billy Ferguson, the man accused of murdering Calallen teen Gabe Cooley in 2020.
Following a punishment phase of trial that lasted longer than the trial itself, jurors sentenced Ferguson to life in prison along with a $10,000 fine.
It was August of 2020 when Ferguson approached Cooley in the aisle at the Walmart in Five Points and then stabbed him several times. Authorities said the attack was completely unprovoked.
Ferguson faced charges of murder as well as aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, but entered his guilty plea for the charge of murder on Tuesday, the first day of his trial. The trial came to close the following day, with jurors finding Ferguson not guilty of the separate aggravated assault charge.
"I feel vindicated that he's gonna get what he deserves now," said Donna Peters, family friend of the Cooley family. "We get to be the ones that go on with our lives and live the life that we want to live and he gets to live a life in jail."
Emotions were understandably high in the courtroom Friday. Angelica Hernandez, who is the First Assistant District Attorney on the case, said the sentence was an achievement in Cooley's honor.
"The maximum sentence he could receive was life and that's what we achieved today on behalf of Gabriel Cooley," Hernandez said, "and we hope that he will rest a little easier. "
During punishment phase of the trial, Ferguson's defense counsel tried to make the case that Ferguson was not mentally stable at the time of the attack. However, jurors were reminded that back in April he was found competent to stand trial.
Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story reported that a jury convicted Ferguson of the crime, but that's not the case. Ferguson himself pleaded guilty, 3NEWS learned Thursday.
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