SAN ANTONIO -- A jury has decided that a former Corpus Christi police officer will spend the rest of his life in prison after being convicted of shooting two Selma police officers in 2013.
Jessie Hernandez Jr. was accused of shooting Selma Police Cpl. Jesus Balderamas in the leg and Officer Tiffany Kierum in the face after they responded to a domestic disturbance Sept. 19, 2013.
During the trial, Bexar County District Attorney Nico LaHood played audio from Balderamas' uniform microphone.
"My initial thought was to protect her," said Balderamas about the shooting. "I'm not going to lie, I thought she was going to pass away right there."
The military surgeon who operated on Kierum told the jury the bullet exploded as it entered her nose and exited her left ear.
"She immediately lost hearing function in that ear and she immediately lost balance function," said Col. Mark Packer. "For several weeks she had on-going dizziness and had to work really, extremely hard through physical therapy to regain balance."
Kierum returned to work three months after the shooting.
Hernandez was found guilty Tuesday of aggravated assault against a public servant. LaHood announced the sentence in a tweet around 2 p.m. Friday.
