Nacogdoches man gets 20 years

Man pleads guilty to shooting former father-in-law

NACOGDOCHES — After watching his 14-year-old daughter testify in tears that she no longer loved him, John Paul Lawrence, 39, of Nacogdoches pleaded guilty Tuesday to shooting his former father-in-law during a confrontation in December.

During day two of his trial, Lawrence pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony, and agreed to the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Christy Wooten/The Daily Sentinel (enlarge photo) Harvey Hand, left, of Henderson was shot by his former son-in-law while defending his daughter and grandchildren at their home in Woden. John Paul Lawrence, the man accused of shooting him, accepted a plea agreement on Tuesday morning.

Lawrence had been indicted for the first-degree felony charge of aggravated assault of a deadly weapon with injury to a relative, punishable by up to 99 years in prison.

"It's what we had offered him all along. We had talked about it with the family a great deal, and they agreed it would be a good sentence," District Attorney Stephanie Stephens said. "It will allow the children to mature and grow up and make a mature decision about what kind of relationship to have with him after he is eligible for parole."

At the temporary location of Judge Campbell Cox's 145th District Court at a rented building on Fredonia Street, Stephens introduced jurors to the incident Monday, telling the story of Lawrence's relationship with his former wife, Amy. Following their divorce in 2005, Lawrence became overwhelmed with alcohol addiction and a sleeping disorder, according to friends who testified as state's witnesses and medical records which were revealed Tuesday morning. In August 2006, he was hospitalized for an apparent overdose caused by pills and alcohol and a wish to "go to sleep and never wake up."

Before the shooting occurred in the early hours of Dec. 28, Lawrence sent several cell phone text messages to his friends, family and former girlfriend that indicated he would kill himself. On Dec. 27, Amy took her children's cell phones away because of the worrisome messages. Harvey Hand, Amy's father, drove to their home on County Road 410 near Woden that night, planning to file a protective order against Lawrence the next day.

At about 3 a.m., Hand confronted Lawrence on the double-wide trailer's porch, and the two began to argue. Amy ran outside before Lawrence shot Hand in the stomach, and she wrestled with him before he dropped the gun and fled toward Nacogdoches.

When deputies recovered the 9 mm Taurus handgun, the 15-bullet clip had four bullets left, with one spent casing jamming the gun, according to sheriff's office Chief Investigator Mike Claude. Stephens and law enforcement officers believed the five bullets were meant for Lawrence, Amy and their three children.

Katie Lawrence, John Lawrence's 14-year-old daughter who witnessed portions of the fight while sleeping in the living room, testified Tuesday morning for the defense. She dialed 911, handed the phone to her mother and covered her grandfather in blankets while he lay on the porch following the shooting.

"I don't have any feelings for him," she said, stone-faced, when Stephens asked how she felt about her father. Katie wore her straight brown hair pulled back with a black headband and sat at a small desk just feet away from jurors in the temporary courtroom.

"I did love him, but I don't anymore," Katie said as she began to cry. A juror on the front row reached out to hand her a tissue, which Katie used to dab at her eyes.

After Katie left the stand, Cox called a short recess, during which Lawrence's attorney, Bill Agnew, discussed a plea bargain with Stephens. Silently in the courtroom, Stephens hand-signaled Agnew a two and a closed fist with her right hand, and after consulting with his brother in a closed room, Lawrence accepted the plea.

Staring straight ahead, Lawrence ignored questions from court staff members and said nothing else until he accepted the plea.

"I am really fortunate ... It brought us closer together, no doubt," Hand said following the plea, surrounded by his three children and their families. "It has really been a growing experience for me."

Speaking to the media outside the courtroom, Hand's voice began to crack as he recalled the doctors and nurses at Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital and North Street Church of Christ members who showed compassion to his family.

"The plea was adequate for us to go on," Hand said. "I'm sorry my granddaughter had to go through that, but I understand she did a good job."

Lawrence could become eligible for parole in 10 years, according to Stephens.