Man sentenced to life in prison for fatal shooting of mother and child

SANFORD, Fla. (FOX 35 WOFL) - A Sanford man was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday for the fatal shooting of his ex-girlfriend and her son.

31-year-old Allen Cashe was arrested in March 2017 for shooting a woman and five others. Police say that he and his girlfriend were arguing before he fatally shot her, her two grade-school age sons, their grandfather, and two bystanders.

His girlfriend, Latina Herring, died on scene. Her two children and father were taken to hospitals in critical condition. One of the children died at the hospital. 

In December 2018, Cashe plead no contest to charges of first-degree premeditated murder. 

RELATED: An inside look into the mind of Allen Cashe. 

Cashe was in court Wednesday for sentencing. He received seven terms of life in prison for shooting and killing Latina Herring and her son in 2017. 

Some people who knew the victims said they did not think justice was served. Franca McQueen said her grandsons were the ones who were shot in 2017. She wanted to see Cashe sentenced to death.

“He [Cashe] didn’t offer my grandbaby life or death. Why did they give him an option,” she said outside the courthouse Wednesday morning.

Jason Brown, who said he has a son with Latina Herring, also wanted the death penalty on the table. “He can sit in a cell all he want but he still breathing and he don’t need to breathe.”

Other family members said they forgave Cashe during impact statements at the sentencing. “Forgiveness is the greatest form of strength and I forgave Allen the day that the crime was committed,” said Herring’s sister, Bertina Jackson.

During an emotional statement, Herring’s other sister spoke about her sister’s memory. “[She was] a daughter, a niece, a sister and most importantly a mother… She loved her family, especially her kids. There was nothing she wouldn’t do for them.”