SAN DIEGO (AP) — A former San Diego County sheriff’s deputy who fatally shot a man he saw escape from a patrol car has been sentenced to three years of probation and a year in jail.
Twenty-five-year-old Aaron Russell pleaded guilty last month to voluntary manslaughter in the May 2020 shooting death of Nicholas Bils.
Superior Court Judge Francis Devaney also ordered a three-year suspended sentence. That means if Russell were to violate the terms of probation, he could be sent to prison.
The prosecutor had sought a six-year term behind bars.
Outside court Monday Bils’ cousin Amber Barnett called the sentence “shameful.”
