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May 26 (UPI) -- A former ice cream truck driver in Florida was sentenced to life in prison Friday, more than 12 years after he shot two people to death and injured four others. Michael Keetley was convicted in March of two counts of premeditated first-degree murder, and four counts of attempted murder, dating back to 2010.
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In a Tampa courtroom, Circuit Court Judge Christopher Sabella sentenced Keetley to life in prison without the possibility of parole for each of the six counts.
The charges date back to 2010, when prosecutors say the 52-year-old tracked down two men he believed responsible for previously shooting and robbing him while he operated his ice cream truck.
On Thanksgiving Day in 2010, Keetley pulled up to a house in Ruskin, Fla., shooting and killing brothers Sergio and Juan Guitron. He also shot and injured four other people at the home.
Officials called it a case of mistaken identity, arguing Keeltey became obsessed with seeking revenge after he was reportedly beaten, robbed and shot over $12 while working.
Keetley has been held without bail since his arrest in 2010. A jury was unable to reach a verdict in 2020 during his first trial. Prosecutors retried the case, starting in March and ending with a guilty verdict.
"This has been a very long road and a very difficult case," the judge said Friday during sentencing.
"What it shows to the victims in this case is that justice is not always swift, but justice is eventually served."
Keetley's lawyers had argued he was unable to commit the murders because of injuries to his hand suffered when he was robbed and shot the year before.
The defense also said survivors wrongly identified Keetley as the shooter and called the subsequent police investigation a "nightmare."
