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Former Texas police officer found guilty of murder for killing of unarmed man in his apartment

DALLAS, TX (CBS/WBTW) – A former Dallas police officer has been found guilty of murder for killing an unarmed man in his apartment, which she claimed she thought was her own.

Former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger has been found guilty of murder in the shooting death of her 26-year-old neighbor Botham Jean.

The 31-year-old took the stand in her own defense, testifying about the night she says she mistakenly entered jean’s apartment- thinking it was her own.

Former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger is escorted by a security detail as she arrives for her murder trial at the Frank Crowley Courthouse in downtown Dallas, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019. Guyger is on trial for shooting and killing her unarmed neighbor Botham Jean in the Dallas apartment building they both lived in. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

“I pulled my gun out and I yelled at him, ‘let me see your hands,’” Guyger said.

Guyger had parked on the wrong level of her apartment complex. Jean lived one floor below her.

She told the jury she thought a burglar was inside her home.

Guyger says she lives with immense guilt every day.

“And I ask God for forgiveness. I hate myself every single day,” she said.

Former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger, center, appears at the Frank Crowley Courts Building in Dallas, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2019. Guyger shot and killed Botham Jean, an unarmed 26-year-old neighbor in his own apartment last year. She said she mistook his fourth-floor apartment for her own. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News via AP, Pool)

Prosecutors argued that Guyger was irresponsible and had been sexting with a married work partner leading up to the shooting.

“For her errors, for her omissions, Botham payed the ultimate price,” said Prosecutor Jason Hermus.

Assistant District Attorney Jason Hermus waves a photo of Botham Jean at the jury as he presents his closing arguments in Amber Guyger’s murder trial in the 204th District Court at the Frank Crowley Courts Building in Dallas, Monday, September 30, 2019. Guyger shot and killed Botham Jean, an unarmed 26-year-old neighbor in his own apartment last year. She told police she thought his apartment was her own and that he was an intruder. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News via AP, Pool)

Jean’s family hugged and celebrated the verdict after it was read.

Guyger could face up to 99 years in prison.

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