LOS ANGELES - A man who opened fire on a lawyer who dodged and ducked behind a tree in a videotaped attack outside the Van Nuys courthouse was sentenced Friday to life in prison plus 25 years.
William Strier, 66, shot attorney Gerald Curry five times in the neck, arms and shoulder outside the courthouse on Oct. 31, 2003. A TV cameraman covering the murder trial of actor Robert Blake videotaped Strier emptying two handguns while Curry bobbed, weaved and crouched behind the slender tree.
Strier, who attended the hearing on a gurney because of back problems, was removed from the courtroom before the sentence was announced because he was disruptive.
After the sentencing, Curry, 55, said he was satisfied Strier will never leave prison.
"I think he's a dangerous man," he said.
In January, a Superior Court jury convicted Strier of premeditated attempted murder with special circumstances that he discharged a firearm and caused great bodily injury.
The judge gave Strier the maximum sentence, citing a probation report that noted Strier shot a neighbor for no apparent reason in 1969. The victim was shot four times but survived. Strier was initially convicted of assault, but it was later dismissed.
In that case, Strier "did exactly what he did in this case - zoned out" when he was arrested, Superior Court Judge Rand Rubin said.
"It worked for him the last time. It didn't work this time," Rubin said.
Strier testified at trial that he couldn't remember shooting Curry, that he had taken pain medication, a diet pill and two shots of whiskey earlier that day.
His attorney, Arna Zlotnick, said Strier will be eligible for parole in about 30 years. She also said her client was remorseful about the attack on Curry.
Strier was taken from the courtroom after he started to read a prepared statement condemning the jury for his conviction. The judge warned Strier he could not blame attorneys or others in his remarks.
Strier ignored the judge's warning, and Rubin ordered him removed.
After the shooting, Strier calmly pocketed his guns and walked away, saying "That's what you get for taking my money." He was then tackled by a traffic court judge who also was a reserve sheriff's deputy.
Prosecutors said he was upset with the outcome of a hearing that day in which Curry and another person received fees for their work on a $98,000 trust fund that Strier received after he was struck by a car.
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