Philadelphia Hospital Shooter Sentenced to 35 Years in Prison After Pleading Guilty to Murder
The nursing assistant who fatally shot a coworker at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital last fall, then started a shootout with police in West Philadelphia after fleeing the hospital in body armor, was sentenced to at least 35 years in prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to charges including third-degree murder.
Stacey Hayes, 55, said little as he admitted shooting 43-year-old Anrae James during an ambush-style attack on the hospital floor last October — declining to specify a motive for the crime, or say why he then drove several miles in a U-Haul before firing rounds from an AR-15 style rifle into the air and later toward police.
Instead, during brief remarks before Common Pleas Court Judge Lillian Ransom, Hayes simply apologized to James’ relatives and friends. Dozens of them had packed the courtroom and wept during the proceedings, and several — including James’ mother and brother — told the judge how difficult James’ death has been for his loved ones, including his three children.
