A Maryland homeowner who shot two firefighters entering his home, killing one of them, was sentenced to four years in prison on a weapons violation.
Darrell Lumpkin pleaded guilty in January to a single felony count of weapon possession and faced up to 15 years in prison. Lumpkin was not allowed to have a weapon because of a previous felony charge on his criminal record from the 1980s.
On April 15, 2016, Lumpkin’s brother called for help, believing Lumpkin was having a diabetes medical emergency.
"I know he owns guns but he ain't going to kill himself," Lumpkin's brother said to the 911 dispatcher.
Prince George’s County firefighters responded, and two firefighters, John Ulmschneider and Kevin Swain, forced their way into the home.
Lumpkin's brother was with the firefighters and was also shot.
"He simply reached to the bed stand, got a gun and came out and, again, he shot his brother who entered the home first. He didn't recognize him," said Prince George's County State's Attorney Angela Alsobrooks said Friday.
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Lumpkin believed his house was being broken into and fired in self-defense, police said. Ulmschneider, 37, was killed, and Swain, 19 at the time, survived four gunshots.
A judge said on Friday that if Lumpkin had not broken the law by owning a gun, the deadly shooting would have never happened.
Lumpkin's attorney, however, said he will ask for the sentence to be reconsidered.
"Obviously we asked for a much lower sentence than the court had provided on today. We do plan to visit that issue. We do plan to ask the court to reconsider the four year sentence that was issued for Mr. Lumpkin," said Brian McDaniel, Lumpkin's attorney.
Ulmschneider's widow and Swain gave impact statements in court to explain how the shooting has affected their lives.
In an interview with News4, Swain said he felt immense guilt after the shooting.
"It bothered me. It ate me alive, actually, because I would have to think that, you know, his 2-year-old daughter will never see her father again," Swain said.
