MARION COUNTY, Fla. — A former Marion County sheriff’s deputy has learned his penalty for killing his girlfriend last year.
A judge Friday morning sentenced Leslie Boileau to 25 years and 8 months in prison.
A jury convicted Boileau of manslaughter in early October.
Boileau said he and the girlfriend, Polina Wright, went to a Mexican restaurant and had three margaritas each. When they returned home, he cleaned his guns while showing Wright how to handle them.
He didn’t realize one of the guns was loaded when he pointed it at Wright and pulled the trigger.
Boileau’s attorney wrote a letter to the judge citing the accidental nature of the shooting, and his remorse and cooperation as reasons for a lighter sentence.
However, the judge said Boileau’s extensive training as a deputy meant he should have known better.
“Your training records speak for themselves,” the judge said. “Treat every weapon as if it were loaded.”
Boileau did not show much emotion as he learned his sentence, nor did he show much as Wright’s family, including her twin sister, addressed the court.
“Half of me has died,” the sister said. “I desperately pray I can feel whole again.”
Boileau asked that he serve his time outside the State of Florida, where the chance of him running into any people he once arrested is lower.
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