[VIDEO] Roy Thompson Sentenced for December Murder

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A Benton Harbor man convicted in the shooting death of a Benton Township business owner has been sentenced to 35 to 60 years in prison. Roy Thompson was found guilty by a jury of second degree murder in June in the death of David Krieger last December. The 53-year-old was killed during a confrontation with Thompson about a dog the suspect allegedly kicked near Krieger’s family business, Michiana Supply in Benton Township.

“I’m sorry that this man didn’t have to die, that he did die, that I did kill him, but the reason why is because I was protecting myself,” Thompson told Judge Scott Schofield Monday.

The victim’s brother, Stephen Krieger, remembered him in court.

“My brother’s sense of humor was based on his faults,” Krieger said. “He never used other people’s weaknesses to make fun of them.”

The victim’s sister in law also made a statement to the court, at one point directly addressing Thompson, saying that trying to place the blame for the tragedy on Krieger was “revolting”.
Before passing the sentence, Judge Scott Schofield addressed what he called the “elephant in the room”; a racial component to the case that was made evident by the separation of Krieger’s friends and family, mostly white, and Thompson’s friends and family, mostly black, in the courtroom gallery. Schofield told all in attendance that when members of the same community choose not to know each other, they do so at their own risk.
In the end, Thompson was sentenced to at least 35 years in prison, and could serve up to 60. He’ll be 66 years old before he’s eligible for parole.