A 32-year-old man who fatally shot an off-duty Richmond police officer last year was sentenced Tuesday to 21 years in prison, according to a court official.
Robert Vega, who was found guilty of manslaughter instead of murder in the February 2016 killing of Officer Gus Vegas inside Vegas's home in Vallejo, received the maximum sentence for his crime.
Vega, a former boyfriend of Vegas' daughter, shot Vegas eight times inside the officer's home. Defense attorneys had said Vega suffered from post traumatic stress disorder and feared for his life when Vegas confronted him after hearing screams from his daughter's bedroom.
The off-duty officer was unarmed.
Defense attorney Todd Bequette said Vega will serve about 85 percent of the sentence after spending the past two years in jail. Bequette estimated Vega will be out of prison in about 15 years.
