SOUTHLAND : Long Beach News Executive’s Son Gets Life for Shooting Girlfriend

A newspaper executive’s stepson was sentenced today to life in prison plus five years for the attempted murder of his ex-girlfriend, who watched from her wheelchair as the judge called the case the most tragic he had ever seen.

Bradley Ackerman, 24, showed no reaction as the sentence was imposed, nor did he look at 23-year-old Julie Alban, who is paralyzed by the bullet he shot into her back as she lay sleeping in her parents’ home. Ackerman, 24, the stepson of Long Beach Press-Telegram Chairman Daniel Ridder, tried unsuccessfully to kill himself after the shooting but recovered from his injuries.

“The court has no animosity toward this young man,” said Superior Court Judge J. D. Smith. “In fact, the court has a heavy heart.” He said he believed Ackerman, depressed for a long time over a failed tennis career, made a premeditated decision to shoot his former girlfriend and himself. Ackerman will be eligible for parole in 9 1/2 years, prosecutors said.