Va. Beach man who shot wife to report to jail Friday

VIRGINIA BEACH

A man who accidentally shot and killed his wife in September 2010 will report to jail Friday to begin serving a 6-month sentence, a spokeswoman for the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office said.

Eugene Edmund Lockney III, 33, pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter in the death of Gillian Lockney, and he was sentenced in August to five years with 4 1/2 years suspended.

Lockney said he needed time to make living arrangements for his teenage daughter before going to jail, said Macie Pridgen, spokeswoman. Prosecutors objected, she said.

Circuit Court Judge Edward W. Hanson Jr. allowed the delay but ruled today Lockney must report on Friday.

Lockney was pretending to shoot at their dog when it jumped into Gillian Lockney's lap, according to a stipulation of evidence in the case. He accidentally fired a semiautomatic pistol, striking his wife in the chest, it said.

Eugene Lockney's daughter and her friend witnessed the shooting, according to the stipulation.