SAN ANTONIO — A San Antonio man has been given life in prison without parole in the 2010 death of an Air Force recruit killed as she tried to retrieve the purse that he snatched from her.
A Bexar County jury on Thursday had convicted 23-year-old Lorenzo Leroy Thompson in the death of Vanessa Marie Pitts. On Friday morning, the jury listened to closing arguments before deciding on a life sentence.
Prosecutors had been pushing for the death penalty.
Thompson and other witnesses testified on Thursday that the 25-year-old Air Force recruit was pumping gas when Thompson tried to steal her purse. Pitts ran after him and jumped on the stolen pickup truck he was driving in an effort to recover the purse.
After swerving to try to shake her from the truck, Thompson drove toward another vehicle to knock her off.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
