Timothy Charles Parmer was assessed a life sentence and a $10,000 fine Tuesday morning in the punishment phase of court proceedings after being found guilty Monday evening. The Wood County jury took 44 minutes to render the guilty verdict in the attempted murder of Department of Public Safety (DPS) Trooper Larry Vaughn, who was shot in the face with buckshot form a gun fired by Parmer.

Prior to the jury retiring for the punishment decision, Parmer asked to testify. Before Parmer testified, Wood County district Attorney Jim Wheeler called Vaughn to the stand. Vaughn, who according to doctors, is 28 percent disabled, but is back working full time on patrol, a job he has been doing nearly 40 years.

Wheeler asked Vaughn why he had not sought administrative promotions during his career. “I don’t care anything about riding a desk. This is a great job. You get to help people every day you are working,” Vaughn stated. “It’s what I like to do and I plan on doing it until I just can’t do it anymore.”

Wheeler asked Vaughn about the affect the shooting had on his family. “It’s really been the toughest on my kids. They were younger then and it was really hard on them. That’s why I did not want them subpoenaed for this trial,” Vaughn explained.

The trooper still suffers from bad migraines. “I can always tell when it is fixing to happen. It starts in my left eye and the left side of my head. I know I have to get back to the office. I found out you don’t understand how people with migraines really feel until they happen to you,” Vaughn added.

Wheeler also noted Parmer’s previous problems in Denton County where he had been in trouble for criminal trespassing, evading arrest, deadly conduct and possession of an unlawful weapon.

When asked where he had been the past seven years, Parmer answered, ”In the Texas Department of Criminal Justice system. I have been in the Eastham Unit since 2011.”

Parmer said if he had the opportunity to speak with Officer Vaughn he would, “Tell him how truly sorry I am. I did something I should not have done. I would ask his forgiveness.”

The jury was excused to determine the punishment at around 10 a.m. and returned at 11:20 a.m. with decision of life in prison and a $10,000 fine. The sentence is stacked meaning the life sentence will not begin until his current sentence is completed.