A San Pablo man on Friday was sentenced to life in prison after he was convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend more than eight years ago while she sat in her car with her two children.
According to prosecutors, Lawyer Dushan McBride, now 51, has been stalking and harassing 29-year-old Rashanda Franklin for weeks before fatally shooting her while she drove her two sons to school.
The victim's family said Franklin had broken up with McBride about a month earlier and that he had since been trying to force her to reconcile with him. The pair was in a relationship for two years.
On the morning of April 4, 2017, prosecutors said, McBride had been waiting for Franklin in a church parking lot in Richmond where she dropped off her kids for school. After spotting McBride, Franklin called 911 and drove away with her children still in the car.
McBride proceeded to follow her, investigators said, cutting off Franklin's car at the intersection of 29th Street and Rheem Avenue while the emergency call continued recording.
"I've got my kids in the car," Franklin was heard pleading in the recording.
"I ain't playing with you," McBride replied before fatally shooting her, prosecutors said.
Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton, whose office prosecuted the case, said the killing "underscores the devastating reality of domestic violence, which claims far too many lives."
"While no verdict can bring back a mother taken from her children in such a senseless act of violence, this sentence provides the victim's family with a measure of justice and accountability," Becton said in a statement. "It also sends a clear message that stalking and harassment are warning signs that must be taken seriously, and that those who perpetrate such violence will be held responsible under the law."
Judge Mary Ann O'Malley sentenced McBride to 95 years to life in state prison. In addition to murder, McBride had been convicted of firing into an occupied vehicle, stalking and using a firearm to cause death.
