25 Years To Life For Heroin Addict Who Ran Over Couple, Killing Man, Four Dogs

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — The man convicted of running over two people, killing a man and his girlfriend's dogs was sentenced to 25 years to life on Friday.

Before Paul Walden's sentencing, he showed no emotion as he listened to statements from the victim's family.

The jury agreed with prosecutors that Paul Walden, a career criminal, was in a drug-induced stupor on July 16, 2012, when officers say he struck Harrison Long-Randall, his girlfriend Gemily West and her four dogs.

Harrison would die weeks later in the hospital.

Showing no emotion, Walden listened to those statements, and even watched a video on Harrison's life.

West, the sole survivor of the hit-and-run, was so overwhelmed, she asked the assistant district attorney to read her statement. Her injuries are a daily reminder of what happened.

Walden read a statement, apologizing to the family, but the judge called him self-absorbed and then sentenced him to 25 years to life in state prison .

"You can sit at home and cage money off your mom, and live in the shed with a lawn mower, and shoot up heroin from here until next Christmas and people would be sorry that that was the case," said judge Patrick Marlette. "But people wouldn't be dead behind that."

The family says despite the sentence, they felt there were no winners in the courtroom on Friday.

Walden was also ordered to pay the victim's family $23,000 in restitution.

Read more
f

We and our partners use cookies to understand how you use our site, improve your experience and serve you personalized content and advertising. Read about how we use cookies in our cookie policy and how you can control them by clicking Manage Settings. By continuing to use this site, you accept these cookies.