Gang member gets life for shooting Dallas undercover cop

A Lancaster gang member who prosecutors say pointed his gun at people just for giggles was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison for shooting an undercover Dallas police officer.
Keliam Rudd was tried only for his crimes against Senior Cpl. Mark Rickerman, but jurors heard testimony about alleged offenses that have not gone to trial.

Prosecutors say he shot a man and left him paralyzed, robbed three women at gunpoint and was arrested in Deep Ellum for unlawfully carrying a gun.
Testimony showed that when Mr. Rudd, now 19, shot Cpl.

Rickerman three times in December 2005, he did not fire until he saw the officer's badge. Cpl. Rickerman was working in plain clothes in an operation targeting high-crime areas in Oak Cliff.

With their verdict, jurors wanted to send a message about the safety of police officers and the community, said juror Robert Deshay, a Dallas real estate broker.
A community can't tolerate offenses against law enforcement, Mr. Deshay said.

That was something we wanted to convey to the police officers, to all the victims, the defendant and his cohorts who still run the streets.
The jury also sentenced Mr. Rudd to 30 years in prison in the aggravated robbery of Cpl.

Rickerman.
Mr. Rudd's family had asked the jury for leniency.

Several relatives said he just made a mistake.
Good kids do get in trouble sometimes, his aunt Margie Chapman told jurors. But we can't throw them away.

Defense attorney Scottie Allen told jurors that Mr. Rudd's age at the time of the crime 17 deserved consideration as they deliberated punishment.
When he was arrested, he was a child, a child.

Children make wrong choices, Mr. Allen said. You tell us what's appropriate.

But prosecutors Damita Jo Sangermano and Kevin Harris characterized Mr. Rudd as a cold and calculated criminal. Mr.

Harris told jurors that he pointed his gun at people just for giggles.
Ms. Sangermano asked jurors to sentence Mr.

Rudd to life, not only as punishment and justice for Cpl. Rickerman but to protect Dallas County residents.
This is the day you are the gatekeeper for this community, she said in closing arguments.

When do you want him back in your community?
Throughout the trial, Mr. Rudd sat with his hand over his mouth or face.

He looked Ms. Sangermano in the eye as she forcefully tossed pictures of his victims' injuries on the table in front of him just before the jury began deliberating his sentence.
At one point during the trial, Mr.

Rudd began mumbling and shaking his head as a witness testified before the jury.
Hey, shut up, Mr. Allen told him.

He was again silent.
The jury of five women and seven men convicted Mr. Rudd of aggravated robbery and aggravated assault of a police officer.

He faced five years to life in prison for each charge.
Mr. Rudd has previously been on juvenile probation and was sent to a Texas Youth Commission ranch.

Trials for the robberies of the three women and the shooting of the man who was paralyzed are pending. Those three women and the man testified during the punishment phase of the trial.
Lancaster police Investigator Stoney Logan testified that Mr.

Rudd was also a suspect in several other crimes in the city. Before his arrest for shooting Cpl. Rickerman, the department had contact with Mr.

Rudd about once a week.
Investigator Logan also said Mr. Rudd belonged to a Lancaster clique that is an offshoot of a nationally known gang.

Since Mr. Rudd's arrest, Investigator Logan testified, the city has seen a small drop in crime.
After the verdict, Mr.

Rudd's family members declined to comment as they sat outside the courtroom clutching the black suit and silver tie he wore during the trial.
Cpl. Rickerman said that getting shot was worth it because Mr.

Rudd was sentenced to life and will no longer be a threat to others. Cpl. Rickerman is back on duty and working in the narcotics unit.

I'd do it all over again if I could if it meant sending him to jail, he said.