ORLANDO, Fla. – A man convicted of killing a former co-worker and wounding five others in 2009 during an Orlando office shooting spree has pleaded no contest to second-degree murder.
Jason Rodriguez was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years in prison. The plea came as a surprise since Wednesday's hearing had been scheduled to address his request for a new trial.
Rodriguez had been convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 2013, but the conviction was overturned earlier this year after an appellate court said the trial judge mistakenly allowed the jury to hear certain instructions before deliberating.
Prosecutors had said that Rodriguez shot his colleagues out of anger that he wasn't getting unemployment benefits after he was fired from the firm.
Experts at the trial testified Rodriguez suffered from hallucinations.