Arkansas man gets 45 years in prison for road-rage shooting death of 3-year-old

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- (KLRT) -- A jury has sentenced Gary Holmes to 45 years in prison for the murder of 3-year-old Acen King. Holmes was also given five additional years for other related charges and will be serving a total of 50 years in prison. He is not eligible for parole.

Gary Holmes was found guilty of murder and terroristic act Wednesday on the second day of his trial for the road-rage-related shooting death of 3-year-old Acen King in December 2016.

The shooting sparked a community outcry at the time. She told police Holmes was driving her car and had a semi-automatic pistol in his lap. He became angry because he thought a car behind him was following too closely, and he pulled over to let the car pass. The car then stopped at a stop sign for a “few minutes,” the woman reportedly told police. Holmes honked, got out of the car and fired a single shot into the other car.

Acen King was in the back seat with his 1-year-old brother. Their grandmother said she was unaware the car was hit and she drove on to a store about nine miles away. There she noticed Acen was hurt and called 911.

“One shot was fired, and it went through the vehicle and hit the child,” said Lt. Steven McClanahan, Little Rock police spokesman.

“She didn't know he was shot,” a bystander told the 911 operator after speaking with the grandmother. One of the callers, describing to the 911 operator what happened, said the grandmother feverishly performed CPR after the child sustained a neck wound.