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Man found guilty of attempted capital murder in 2015 shooting of Travis County judge, jury finds

Judge Julie Kocurek spent nearly two months in the hospital after she was shot in 2015.

TRAVIS COUNTY -- Chimene Onyeri has been found guilty of attempted capital murder in the 2015 shooting of a Travis County judge, a jury decided on April 26.

Onyeri was accused of attempting to kill Travis County District Judge Julie Kocurek in 2015. Closing arguments in the trial finished April 25 before the jury began deliberating. He was found guilty on all 17 counts against him, including a racketeering charge and the attempted capital murder of Kocurek.

The shooting happened the night of Nov. 6, 2015. Onyeri said that he did not intend to kill her and that he only meant to scare her and her family.

He had a criminal case in her court and prosecutors said Onyeri thought Kocurek would send him to prison.

After the verdict, District Attorney Margaret Moore, Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregg Sofer, APD Assistant Chief Joe Chacon and other criminal justice personnel involved in the investigation spoke in a press conference.

"When you shoot a judge in front of her children in her driveway because she's a judge, you're going to get the attention of people like this," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregg Sofer. "We're gonna work night and day to make sure that kind of thing doesn't happen."

Moore said Judge Kocurek would not be commenting Tuesday, but she said Kocurek did ask her to tell the community how much she appreciates the jury's verdict.

"She could not adequately express her appreciation for the time and attention they gave it," said Moore. "She also wants everyone who participated in this investigation to know how much she and her family appreciate what they've done for her."

Moore also commended on Judge Kocurek's family for their bravery.

"We can't give them back life as they knew it before," said Moore. "But I hope we've given them some consolation in knowing they were not alone and that the full force of the law was brought to bear to rid us of this evil."

Onyeri's sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 17 at 9 a.m. The maximum punishment he could face would be life in prison without parole.

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