During the trial, one of Herard’s victims, 75-year-old Gerald Lakin, who was shot in the face during a robbery and wears a towel around his neck to collect the drool that constantly drips from his mouth, testified about how he has suffered since the incident. Herard laughed out loud during the man’s testimony, the Palm Beach Post reported.
“There’s no rehabilitation for someone like that,” Lakin said. Referring to his injuries he said: “I have to live with this for the rest of my life.”
“I feel sorry for the victims, but if it wasn’t them, it would have been someone else,” said Herard in his closing remarks. He indicated to the judge that he didn’t care what sentence he received.
His attorney, Peter Grable, told Circuit Judge Karen Miller that Herard’s demeanor shows that something was “very wrong” with his client. He urged Miller to consider a sentence that would set Herard free at age 71.
Miller sentenced Herard to a total of nine life sentences — five of them consecutive.
Herard has also been implicated in several more violent crimes in Broward, including an unprovoked slaying of a man walking home from work and a murder at a Dunkin’ Donuts. He faces the death penalty if convicted of those crimes.
