HARRISON COUNTY, Texas — An East Texas man has been sentenced to 99 years in prison for shooting his mother and uncle.
According to the Harrison County District Attorney's Office, Carl Dunn, 55, was handed down his sentence after a jury deliberated for less than an hour after he pleaded guilty.
On April 27, 2020, deputies responded to welfare check around 11:35 p.m. on Jackson Arm Rd.
When officials arrived at the location, they knocked on the door and heard someone inside the residence yelling for help.
A deputy went in the house and found two gunshot victims, the suspect's mother, Kathleen Dunn, 79, and his uncle, Stephen Hegner, 65.
"Hegner, who was found on the floor under a table, told the deputy that Carl Dunn had shot him and the defendant’s mom," the DA's office said in a statement.
Deputies then found the suspect hiding under his bed naked. He was then taken into custody.
The victims were flown to Shreveport to be treated for their injuries.
The DA's office says the jury heard the following testimony before deciding the suspect's fate:
"The jury learned that the defendant had been living with his mother and uncle at Caddo Lake. On the evening of April 27, 2020, Mrs. Dunn and Mr. Hegner talked to the defendant about getting on food stamps since he was unemployed. Mrs. Dunn stated that it was a casual conversation and that the defendant was maybe annoyed, but there was no argument. She went on to say that the defendant went to his room and Mr. Hegner went to his room to read while Mrs. Dunn sat in the living room watching television and reading. A short time later, Mrs. Dunn heard gunshots and ran to Mr. Hegner’s room where she saw that the defendant had shot Mr. Hegner four times and was pistol whipping him. When Mrs. Dunn attempted to intervene, the defendant shot his own mother in the face and began to chase her to the living room where he began pistol whipping her as well. She testified that upon the defendant shooting her, she could feel her teeth shatter. The defendant pistol whipped the two so badly that the barrel of the handgun broke and was found on the living room floor."
Doctors who testified said the victims' injuries were life-threatening and both would have died from their injuries if there had not been medical intervention. Mrs. Dunn was in the hospital for almost two months and Mr. Hegner is still in a rehabilitation facility in the Dallas area.