PORT ARTHUR, Texas — A 28-year-old Port Arthur woman was sentenced to probation in the fatal shooting of her boyfriend in 2021.
Brittany Nicole Tims, 28, of Port Arthur, was sentenced to 10 years on probation on Wednesday for fatally shooting her boyfriend, Ronald Frazier, in the chest.
She appeared Wednesday morning in Criminal District Court before Judge John Stevens, who sentenced her.
(EDITOR'S NOTE: The above video first aired in September 2021.)
Stevens told her that she had lied, noting that her story on what happened the night of the shooting changed four times.
"Somebody's life was taken by your recklessness and in front of children. How do you fix that," Stevens asked her Wednesday during sentencing. Her three children, ages two, four and 10, were with her when the shooting happened.
Tims, who was originally charged with murder, previously pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter, a second degree felony, as part of a plea deal.
In August 2021, Port Arthur Police responded to call in reference to a shooting at the Wing Stop located in the 8000 block of Memorial Blvd. When they got there, they found Frazier dead in the parking lot with a single gunshot wound to his chest, according to a probable cause affidavit in the case.
Frazier was lying in front of a white GMC Yukon that had and Tims and her children inside. Officers found a .380 caliber handgun in the driver's seat, and the handgun's magazine on the ground outside the driver’s door.
When first questioned, Tims told police Frazier had the gun and accidentally shot himself. However, a witness at the scene told investigators that Frazier did not accidentally shoot himself and that he was in the passenger side doorway, but not inside the car, when the gun went off.
Tims was taken to a police station for further questioning, where she said that Frazier threw the gun on the passenger seat. After he threw it, Tims said she picked it and the gun went off, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Investigators did not believe this, saying the location of entrance wound indicated that the gun was pointed directly at Frazier’s upper chest.
The location of the entrance wound gave police probable cause, and Tims was arrested for the murder of Frazier.
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This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.