KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- A St. Cloud man who tried to kill two cops in 2011 with an AK-47 was sentenced Friday to 20 years in prison followed by 10 years of probation and psychiatric treatment.
More than 30 law enforcement officers -- most of them from the St. Cloud Police Department -- packed an Osceola County courtroom Friday for the sentencing.
They were there to stand in solidarity with St. Cloud Detective Clinton Wise and Officer Spencer Endsley who narrowly escaped death on Nov. 21, 2011 when David Penney opened fire on them.
During the sentencing hearing before Circuit Judge Jon B. Morgan, St. Cloud Police Chief Peter Gauntlett described Penney as murderous and a truly dangerous threat to community.
"In 32 years in law enforcement, I've witnessed many things. This scene, this ambush, this assault on our community, was by far the worst that I have personally ever witnessed," Gauntlett told the judge. "No community, no citizen -- and most of all, no police officer -- should ever be ambushed. He attempted to murder that night and now he sits before us today."
During the shooting, one round from the teen's AK-47 hit Wise in the foot. Three more rounds passed within in an inch of Endsley's head. Glass from their patrol car's windshield sprayed Endsley's arms, hand, face and an eye.
Police officers and deputies across Osceola County were upset that the Orange-Osceola State Attorney's Office negotiated a plea bargain with Penney, dropping attempted murder and all gun-related charges with mandatory minimum sentences under the state's 10-20-Life law.
However, details disclosed at Friday's hearing by Penney's defense about his recently diagnosed history of autism explained much about why State Attorney Jeffrey Ashton avoided trial.
While Penney's mental illness did not reach the level of insanity that might have kept him from going to prison, testimony by expert witnesses claimed he could not appreciate the wrongfulness of his actions.
He has spent the 16 months since the shooting at Orlando Regional Medical Center for treatment of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head and at the Osceola County Jail receiving psychiatric therapy and taking medications.
Yet testimony indicated Penney had an IQ over 100 and meticulously planned the shooting two years ago by studying the 1997 North Hollywood shootout at a Los Angeles bank that was one of the worst attacks on police in decades.
He also bought two AK-47s from an Osceola County gun show, high-capacity magazines and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
The police investigation showed Penney had been a collector of toy guns since early childhood and began buying real ones upon turning 18. He also left a five-page manifesto entitled, "Why I left," to explain his anger at society and his planned suicide.
During the shooting, Penney slowly walked down Alabama Avenue at 2 a.m. near downtown St. Cloud firing about 100 rounds from his AK-47s. He stopped to riddle the outside wall of a home where a young man lived who allegedly damaged Penney's car a month or two earlier.
Still walking rather than running, Penney fired more shots at multiple targets until he ambushed the patrol car Wise and Endsley used to respond to multiple 911 calls. At least nine bullets hit the windshield and body of the car before Penney shot himself in the head.
Now 20, Penney apologized in court to Endsley and Wise and said he would continue his therapy and "will never do anything like it again."
"This is a sad case. David Penney no doubt suffers from significant mental illness," Morgan said before the sentencing. "I can't imagine a much more horrible crime. It's clear that from testimony that Mr. Penney, despite his mental illness, he did known right from wrong.
"If your barrel had moved a fraction of an inch either way, Detective Wise and Officer Endsley might not be here with us."
Some officers were satisfied that Morgan's sentence extended Penney's time in jail and prison to nearly 22 years by not giving him credit for time served in jail.
"Thank goodness Judge Morgan is pretty tough on this stuff," said Wise, who had been particularly upset by the possible 8-year minimum negotiated by Ashton's staff. "I'm pretty happy about the outcome. I'm happy the community does not have to worry about this guy for 20 years."
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