A Lexington man recently pleaded guilty to shooting into his estranged wife’s home.

David James Hall, 36, entered his plea Jan. 8, just before his trial was supposed to start that morning. Following the plea, Circuit Court Judge Walton McLeod IV sentenced Hall to 15 years in prison.

According to a release from the 11th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, Hall was charged with two counts of attempted murder, domestic violence of an aggravated nature, second-degree burglary and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. The release adds that state law declares that attempted murder is classified as a violent and “no parole” offense.

The release states that Hall had prior convictions for threatening a public official and burglary.

“On the evening of June 24, 2022, Hall began texting one of the victims, his estranged wife, about a new relationship she shared on Facebook,” the release states. “Although the parties separated in December of 2021, the divorce was not yet final.”

The release states that Hall showed up at the home where his estranged wife, two of his minor children and the wife's boyfriend were residing. The release adds that he made multiple verbal threats, fleeing when law enforcement was called.

According to the release, over the following two hours, Hall sent violent text messages claiming that he was going to come back and harm them.

“Shortly after 11:00 p.m. that night, Ring camera footage showed Hall coming back to the residence, getting out of his car, cursing, and shooting a single shot into the master bedroom’s window,” the release states. “This bullet was later recovered from the mattress in that room.”

All four residents fled out the back door and climbed a fence to seek safety at a neighbor’s home, according to the release, which adds that the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department responded to the scene, but Hall had fled again.

The release states that the Ring camera footage showed Hall returning to the home, and deputies once again responded finding Hall’s estranged wife's car, locked in the home's garage, vandalized. Deputies also discovered that five additional shots had been fired into the home where the bedrooms were.

According to the release, Deputy Solicitor Angela Martin and Assistant Solicitor Player Long prosecuted this case on behalf of the 11th Circuit Solicitor’s Office. 

During sentencing, Martin told the judge that “this criminal behavior cannot be justified and cries out for a significant sentence even though, thankfully, no one was physically injured in the attack.”