HOUSTON — A Houston man was sentenced to decades behind bars for shooting a deputy constable in the legs seven times in 2017, according to the Harris County District Attorney's Office.
A Harris County Jury sentenced Constantine Argyriou, 44, to 50 years in prison for the shooting that severely wounded Precinct 4 deputy constable Justin Gay. Argyriou was convicted of aggravated assault of a public servant, which the DA's office said carries the same punishment range as a murder charge.
According to the DA's office, the shooting happened as Gay was responding to a family violence call at Argyriou's home in northwest Houston. When Gay got to the home, witnesses told him Argyriou was in a nearby grassy area.
As Gay tried to detain him, the two got into a fight. At some point, they ended up on the ground. That's when Argyriou pulled out a pistol and shot Gay. He then stood up and shot the deputy constable several more times before running away. He was arrested about a mile away.
Gay was flown to Memorial Hermann Hospital in the Texas Medical Center and survived the incident. It was four months before he was able to walk again. He would go on to return to duty, but testified that he now has chronic pain from the shooting.
Argyriou must serve half of his 50-year sentence before being eligible for parole.
KHOU 11 spoke with the deputy constable a week after he was released from the hospital in November 2017.
"I was thinking how unfortunate it would be for my parents to have to bury their only son," he said. "I was thinking about how unfortunate it would be for my wife to be a widow at such a young age...Most importantly, I was thinking about my children."
At the time, Gay said he had no hatred for Argyriou.
"My judgement doesn't matter," he said. "It's God's that matters."