VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A judge sentenced a man to life in prison for shooting his estranged wife and exchanging gunfire with Volusia County deputies during a domestic dispute in 2016.
Emmanuel Rosado, 27, was sobbing and saying how sorry he was when a judge sentenced him on Monday in a DeLand courtroom.
[READ: Man shoots wife with children in home in Deltona, deputies say]
Three children were also inside the Deltona home when the shooting took place.
"That day was not me," Rosado said.
Rosado claimed he tried taking his own life, but accidentally shot his estranged wife in the leg when she tried to intervene.
"Finding out that your spouse is cheating on you with her drug dealer, using drugs behind your back, part of me just wanted to destroy the house. It wasn't fair. I worked all my life. I put myself through college, did everything possible to provide. It disappeared just like that," he said.
Rosado's attorney pleaded with the judge to give his client a maximum of 20 years for attempted second-degree murder. The attorney said Rosado was remorseful, has a limited criminal history, and had no intentions of shooting at deputies.
[READ: Video shows deputies saving children from gunman in domestic dispute]
"The evidence suggests he was waiting on the officers to get there to try and shoot them. I don't think the evidence shows that," Rosado's attorney said.
But the state argued Rosado deserved the mandatory life sentence.
"Mr. Rosado was ready to ambush those law enforcement officers when they arrived that day, upon being called by his wife, Victoria Rosado," a prosecutor said.
The judge said he had no discretion and sentenced Rosado to life behind bars. Rosado's mother was also in court but declined to comment.