Granby Theater shooter gets 60 years

NORFOLK

For hours each day, Patricia Holmes sits beside her only son's hospital bed.

Thomas Holmes has not moved since March 28, 2007, when he was shot repeatedly at the Granby Theater downtown. He cannot eat, drink or walk, and he remains in a persistent vegetative state.

Patricia Holmes looked across the courtroom at Joseph Reid III, the man convicted of attempting to murder her son.

"Whatever punishment he gets, he deserves every bit of it," she said.

Circuit Judge Charles E. Poston imposed a jury's recommended sentence of 60 years against Reid.

The shooting happened in a crowded theater during a rap show. Prosecutor Tanja Korpi said Reid shot Holmes five to 10 times as revelers scattered. Holmes was left bleeding on the floor, saying, "Help me. I'm going to die."

Reid's lawyer, Michael F. Fasanaro Jr., said his client had been trying to intervene in an argument when the shooting happened. Fasanaro asked the judge to reduce the jury's recommendation.

Korpi objected.

"Sixty years is appropriate," she said. "Bring some peace to the family of Thomas Holmes."

Michelle Washington, (757) 446-2287, michelle.washington@pilotonline.com