Fort Myers man sentenced to 40 years in prison in home burglary case
A Fort Myers man was found guilty and sentenced to 40 years in prison, for the burglary of a home that resulted in a co-defendant being shot and killed while the crime was committed.
Richard Allen Cochran was sentenced to 40 years for armed burglary, 30 years for manslaughter with a firearm, five years for conspiracy to commit burglary, credit for time served on the last count of violation of injunction against stalking
The defendant was convicted of the charges following a trial in Lee County. Assistant State Attorney Hamid Hunter of the State Attorney’s Office Homicide Unit prosecuted the case.
Cochran, and his juvenile co-conspirator — both armed and wearing masks — entered a Fort Myers home at 1:20 a.m. on Sept. 20, 2021 with the intent to rob the family sleeping inside, according to the State Attorney’s Office.
The pair confronted one of the home’s occupants, a juvenile, whom Cochran’s accomplice shot in the upper thigh. The juvenile victim’s older brother heard the gunshot, grabbed a semi-automatic firearm, and shot the juvenile burglar. He died from multiple gunshot wounds. Cochran fled.
Cochran was arrested in December of 2021 after an extensive investigation by Lee County Sheriff’s Office homicide detectives and a DNA match on a weapon that was observed at the scene of the crime.
The State Attorney’s Office said a second juvenile co-defendant involved in the conspiracy testified against Cochran at the trial and is scheduled to be sentenced in December.