2 more men gets long sentences for attempt to kill judge

AUSTIN, Texas – Two more men have received long prison sentences for a 2015 assassination attempt on a state judge outside her home.

U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel in Austin sentenced 29-year-old Marcellus Antoine Burgin of Cypress, Texas, on Tuesday to 25 years in federal prison and 27-year-old Rasul Kareem Scott of Marrero, Louisiana, to 17 1/2 years in prison. They pleaded guilty earlier to fraud and racketeering involving the attempted capital murder of state District Judge Julie Kocurek of Austin.

Last month, Yeakel sentenced 31-year-old Chimene Hamilton Onyeri to life in prison after a jury found him guilty of multiple counts of fraud, racketeering and other charges. Burgin and Scott testified that Onyeri was the triggerman in Kocurek’s shooting.

Kocurek underwent more than 20 surgeries and lost a finger after the attack. According to trial testimony, Onyeri wanted her dead to avoid going to prison on a probation violation.