ST. GEORGE — They waited two years for their day in court. To face the man convicted of manslaughter. To release their frustrations. To tell the judge what the sentence should be.

Emotions ran high in district court Tuesday at the sentencing hearing for Tommy Bradshaw Jr., 35, who pleaded guilty in September to first-degree felony discharge of a firearm and second-degree felony manslaughter in the June 2020 death of Jamal “Tank” Goodman, age 23.

The victim’s family traveled from Southern California to attend the hearing, with several of them making an emotional appeal to the court.

Among them was Goodman’s mother, Jea Reese, who sat at the prosecutor’s table as she prepared to address the court, unable to speak initially. District Judge Eric A. Ludlow addressed her by saying, “You’ve waited two years, four months, and 23 days for this day. So ma’am I want you to take your time.”

Reese opened by saying she has spent the last two years thinking of what she would say to the defendant, and in the end, she said, “Mr. Bradshaw, you broke my heart when you took my child. I sent my baby away to school – and he came back to me in a casket.”

She went on to say her son called her to tell her the defendant was sleeping on his couch, and then her son said he was thinking of letting Bradshaw move into the extra room he had in the apartment.

She said she asked many questions a parent would typically ask to make sure her son was making the right decision in letting the defendant move in. But after that night in June 2020, she said she felt like she failed her son.

The shooting in the closet

The case was filed in connection with an incident reported on June 23, 2020, when officers and emergency personnel were dispatched to a reported shooting at the Legacy Ridge Apartments on 1990 East. The initial call reported it as a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and when officers arrived at the complex, they found Goodman unresponsive, with an injury to his chest. He was transported to St. George Regional Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

Reports indicated Bradshaw admitted to the shooting, telling officers his roommate returned home and knocked loudly on Bradshaw’s door, so he retrieved a handgun from his closet and located the victim hiding in a closet. Bradshaw said he shot the man who then fell to the ground, according to charging documents filed with the courts.

During a preliminary hearing held in August of last year, St. George Lt. Rich Triplett described how the two men, Bradshaw and Goodman, were roommates living together, and that Bradshaw had said he was stressed out over a girlfriend when his roommate returned from the gym and banged on his door.

It was then that Bradshaw grabbed the firearm from his closet, racked the slide and removed the safety. He then entered Goodman’s bedroom and looked in the closet, where he found the roommate hiding behind a sheet. At that point, Bradshaw said he pointed the firearm at Goodman and said “Gotcha” and pulled the trigger and shot Goodman in the chest, Triplett said during his testimony.

Detectives learned at the hospital after speaking with treating physicians that the bullet that entered Goodman’s chest and perforated the aortic valve in the heart, which caused his death.

At the time of his death, Goodman was a senior pursuing a bachelor of science in criminal justice and previously played for the university’s football team when he enrolled in the spring of 2015. He also worked at the Washington County Juvenile Detention Center, and prior to moving to Utah, Goodman played football as a first-team all-league linebacker at Centennial High School in Corona, California.

The defense speaks 

Bradshaw’s defense attorney, Ryan Stout, was first to address the court by saying that his client feels, and has continued to feel, a great sense of remorse and sorrow for his actions and that his client was aware that he would spend time, “a lot of time,” in prison. He added that it ultimately would be up to the Board of Pardons and Parole to decide how much time he will actually spend in prison.

The attorney went on to say his client’s remorse and regret were clear from the beginning. Bradshaw made the 911 call immediately after the shooting and rendered aid to Goodman until paramedics arrived. Stout also told the judge that Bradshaw had a clean record prior to the June 2020 incident.

He then asked that his client be given credit for the 874 days he has already served in jail.

Stout then introduced Rev. Carlos Malley, a pastor in Alexandria, Louisiana, and Bradshaw’s half-brother, who wanted to address the court on behalf of the Bradshaw family. Malley said he had read about Goodman’s life and his promising future – one that was cut short by the tragic event, he said. He also offered his “sincerest” condolences to the Goodman family for the loss they have suffered.

He closed by saying, “I know there’s very little that I, or anyone in my family can say, that will heal the pain in your hearts right now.”

Bradshaw also made an emotional statement before the court by first saying that he knew well of the pain the Goodman family was going through, having lost his sister to a car accident. He also said he was very sorry for what he had done and that he and Goodman were friends and had been for more than two years. He also said he not only carries the burden of remorse for what happened on that night but has also felt the loss of his friend.

“We became closer every day,” Bradshaw said. “I looked at Tank as my little brother.”

He said he has prayed every night while in jail, and during each prayer, he tells Goodman how sorry he is for what happened. He also said that once he is released from prison, his goal is to open a Boys and Girls Club in honor of the victim.

“From here on out, I want to live my life in honor of Jamal,” Bradshaw said. “Your legacy means everything to me,” and then he closed by asking the Goodman family to forgive him someday.

Goodman’s family describes a life of promise cut short 

During Tuesday’s hearing, several of Goodman’s family members and friends addressed the judge and Goodman directly. The first to speak, Pastor Joseph Spencer, Goodman’s cousin, opened by saying that June 23 will always be the day “that my family got ripped apart by a coward,” he said, adding that his cousin’s death was the worst pain he has ever experienced in his life.

“They say that time heals all wounds,” Spencer said. ” But that’s not true – all it has done is it has moved the tragic loss of Jamal for our family further away.”

He described Goodman’s generosity and love, which were traits the suspect also benefitted from when his cousin opened his home to Bradshaw when Goodman found out the defendant had no place to live – generosity that Bradshaw repaid to the victim by murdering him, he said.

Spencer added that Bradshaw was no friend to the victim. If he had been, then Bradshaw would not have killed him. The pastor closed by speaking directly to Bradshaw.

“On June 23, 2020, you sowed the seeds of death – and you will reap what you have sown.”

Goodman’s aunt, Tiffany Brown, also addressed the court by describing the loving nature of her nephew Goodman, calling him a “beautiful, beautiful soul,” and she described how excited she was to watch her nephew’s life unfold.

She also described the pain she felt when she received the news of her nephew’s death from the hospital staff in St. George, knowing the next call she would have to make was to her sister, the mother of the victim.

“I couldn’t believe I had to tell my sister that her child, her firstborn, was dead,” Brown said.

She said the defendant’s actions have destroyed two families -the defendant’s and the victim’s – and then she said the fact that Bradshaw was living in her nephew’s home at the time made the incident even more painful and ironic.

She closed by saying, “Tommy, he gave you shelter when you didn’t have anywhere to be – and you took his life.”

The state seeks justice for the victim with so much promise  

Prosecutor Zachary Weiland represented the state during the hearing and became choked up as he described how he has grown so close to the Goodman family over the last two years, and that he first discussed the stipulated agreement with the family before it was presented to the court.

Weiland became emotional as he read a letter from Goodman’s employer, Benjamin Nichols, program administrator at Cinnamon Hills Youth Crisis Center, who described the victim as “a rising star in a challenging field.” Nichols said Goodman’s generous nature and his willingness to step in and go the extra mile helped many of the kids in crisis.

“He will never be forgotten,” Nichols said.

He also said in the letter that no one will ever know how many more young lives Goodman would have touched if he were still alive, calling the victim “a bona fide hero,” at a time when true heroes are hard to find, Nichols wrote.

Weiland also mentioned photos he was shown of a New England Patriot player who wore on his helmet Goodman’s initials, representative of him having played football at what was then Dixie State University.

He closed by saying it was Bradshaw’s decision to shoot the victim, not a game, but it ended in the death of someone with so much promise – “a great man,” Weiland said.

The judge then sentenced Bradshaw to serve five years to life on the first-degree felony discharge of a firearm and 1-15 years for second-degree manslaughter – sentences that were ordered to run consecutively.

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