GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The man convicted of killing 42-year-old Vasant Patel was sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in prison on Wednesday.
Neftali Hernandez, 22, was found guilty of second-degree murder and a felony firearms charge in March. He appeared in the 17th Circuit Court Wednesday morning to hear impact statements from Patel's family and learn his sentence.
The charges stem back to an incident in February 2023 when officers arrived at a home in the 800 block of Butterworth Street SW and found Patel suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
Patel was taken to a hospital, where he later died.
During the trial, the jury heard the 911 call that captured the shooting as it happened. Judge Scott Noto, who presided over the trial, described the way the 911 operator worked to de-escalate the situation.
"She deserves recognition for her effort. She did everything she could to prevent you from firing those shots," he said to Hernandez. "But as we heard during that call, your intent was clear. You were going to kill him."
Hernandez claimed self-defense, saying he was protecting himself and his family. The jury rejected his claim. Noto also said the self-defense argument was not applicable in this case.
“(Patel) did not deserve to die. He posed no immediate threat to you. He died only because you decided to end the verbal argument with six bullets. That is not reasonable. That is not self-defense. That is murder."
Noto said the medical examiner testified that the shots were fired so close to Patel that there was searing on the gunshot wounds and his clothes.
In addition to hearing from family who appeared in court, Noto read a letter that was sent by Patel's 9-year-old child.
"Now he can't watch me grow up or hear me call him dad," he read. "I will pray for you that God changes your heart. You have a chance to change, but my father can't be brought back to life. My last birthday wasn't the same without meeting him for dinner."
Before hearing his sentence, Neftali addressed the court and asked for understanding. He said he didn't want to kill Patel but felt that he needed to protect himself.
"I don't go to sleep at night, and I don't think of his face and the last word that came out of his mouth, I don't smile. I don't laugh. I don't smirk. I cry," he said. "I never wanted to do that. I never met him. I didn't know him. Just know that I did value his life."
Hernandez was sentenced to two years in the Michigan Department of Corrections for the felony firearm charge, with a credit of 425 days for the time he's already served. Consecutively, he will serve 20 years to 36 years for the second-degree murder charge.
Noto said he took into account that Hernandez does not have a prior criminal history.
Watch the sentencing hearing:
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