{"id":53256,"date":"2014-07-03T16:19:22","date_gmt":"2014-07-03T23:19:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theavtimes.com\/?p=53256"},"modified":"2014-07-03T21:58:01","modified_gmt":"2014-07-04T04:58:01","slug":"palmdale-man-gets-21-years-in-prison-for-roommates-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/2014\/07\/03\/palmdale-man-gets-21-years-in-prison-for-roommates-death\/","title":{"rendered":"Palmdale man gets 21 years in prison for roommate\u2019s death"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Nicholas<\/a>
Nicholas Harper, now 26, has been sentenced to 21 years in state prison for the Feb. 2012 shooting death of 21-year-old James McElroy (right).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Palmdale man has been sentenced to 21 years in state prison for shooting his roommate in the face two years ago.<\/p>\n

Nicholas Harper<\/strong>, 26, was sentenced in an Antelope Valley courtroom Thursday for the death of his best friend and roommate, 21-year-old James McElroy<\/strong>. A jury last month found Harper not guilty of murder, but guilty of voluntary manslaughter in connection with McElroy\u2019s death. The jury also found true the allegation that Harper personally used a shotgun to commit the crime.<\/p>\n

McElroy was shot to death Feb. 7, 2012 inside the apartment he shared with Harper at the Parkwood Patio complex in the 38000 block of 20th Street East in Palmdale. Harper initially told detectives that McElroy had been shot by two black guys who came to the apartment looking for marijuana. The next day, Harper changed his story, claiming the shooting was accidental and it happened when he and McElroy decided to clean their guns after an evening of drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana.<\/p>\n

During Harper\u2019s sentencing hearing Thursday, family members expressed grief and anguish over the loss of McElroy.<\/p>\n

McElroy was her only son and the family\u2019s protector, said Clemmie Graves<\/strong>. Her son was a lovable person who was adored by everyone, young and old, Graves said.<\/p>\n

The victim\u2019s sister, Shante McElroy<\/strong>, read a heartfelt, self-composed poem that talked about losing her \u201chero.\u201d The mother of McElroy\u2019s daughter, Samantha Zuniga<\/strong>, spoke about the child\u2019s struggle to cope with the loss of her dad. \u201cIt\u2019s really hard as a mom to not be able to take your kid\u2019s pain away,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Velma McElroy<\/strong> said her grandson was a kindhearted person who had looked out for her for as long as she could remember. \u201cYou took away someone that we love very much,\u201d Velma McElroy told Harper.<\/p>\n

Following the victim impact statements, Harper made a rambling plea for forgiveness directed at McElroy\u2019s family members.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am to blame, but I never denied that,\u201d Harper said, adding that the shooting was a drunken accident that he wished he could take back. \u201cIf I could change anything that night, there\u2019s no doubt that I would change places with him and have him be here,\u201d Harper said.<\/p>\n

He said McElroy was like a brother to him, and he urged family members to remember the good times they all shared.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo matter how many times I say sorry to you, I know it would never change it,\u201d Harper told McElroy\u2019s family members.<\/p>\n

But prosecutor William S. Chung said Harper had previously showed no remorse or accepted any responsibility for his best friend\u2019s death. Following the jury\u2019s manslaughter verdict last month, Harper was heard in a jailhouse telephone call saying \u201cWe beat this!\u201d and \u201cF— the family\u201d in reference to McElroy\u2019s family members, Chung told the judge.<\/p>\n

In sentencing Harper to the high term for voluntary manslaughter, Judge Kathleen Blanchard said Harper had taken no responsibility in the aftermath of McElroy\u2019s death. Rather, Harper made up a story and discarded the weapons, which was a \u201cclear indication of a sophisticated plan.\u201d The judge also said that the story Harper told about the shooting being an accident \u201cdoesn\u2019t seem very likely.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following the sentencing hearing, McElroy\u2019s mother said she was leaving everything in God\u2019s hands.<\/p>\n

\u201cGod will deal with him (Harper),\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n

Previous related stories:<\/p>\n

Man found guilty of manslaughter in roommates death<\/a><\/p>\n

Trial opens for Palmdale man charged with killing roommate<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

1-year anniversary vigil for James McElroy<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Man pleads not guilty in roommate shooting death<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Man charged in roommate murder, bail set at $2 million<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Family seeks justice for man shot dead by roommate<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Palmdale man has been sentenced to 21 years in state prison for shooting his roommate in the face two years ago. Nicholas Harper, 26, was sentenced in an Antelope Valley courtroom Thursday for the death of his best friend and roommate, 21-year-old James McElroy. A jury last month found Harper not guilty of murder, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":51860,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[719],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53256"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53256"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53256\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theavtimes.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}