Trevor Dooley, the Valrico man found guilty of killing a neighbor over skateboarding on a basketball court, is finally headed to prison to begin serving an 8-year sentence.
Two years ago, a jury found the now 72-year-old school bus driver guilty of manslaughter in the September 2010 fatal shooting of 41-year-old David James. The men had argued about a skateboarder using a community basketball court in their Valrico neighborhood. James died in front of his 8-year-old daughter.
Dooley tried unsuccessfully to use Florida's controversial "stand your ground" law as a defense, saying he feared being overpowered by the larger and younger James as they wrestled for Dooley's gun. Circuit Ashley Moody rejected the argument, and Dooley's defense switched to self-defense. The jury didn't buy it.
In February 2013, Moody granted Dooley's motion for release on $100,000 bond while he appealed his conviction. That decision infuriated the victim's widow, who said was Dooley was faking that he was too frail for prison to gain sympathy.
The Second District Court of Appeals denied Dooley's appeal on Oct. 9, and Monday, Dooley was taken into custody to begin serving his 8-year prison sentence.