US: Man jailed for shooting trans woman he met on Craigslist
A Florida man has been jailed for four years and nine months, after he shot a transgender woman six times with a pistol.
Appearing in Forsyth Superior Court this week, Jason Roy Borkowski pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon, and inflicting serious injury with intent to kill.
According to the Winston-Salem Journal, Borkowski, 38, met Alevaro Refugio on Craigslist while looking online for someone to ‘hang out’ with, days after leaving his wife.
On October 12 last year they engaged in sexual activity, after which he shot her six times with a .25-caliber pistol, hitting her in the shoulder, chest and arms.
The injuries were life threatening, but Refugio eventually recovered.
Borkowski apologized in court for his actions, saying: “I am sorry that I caused pain and suffering for the victim.”
Defence lawyers had claimed that Borkowski fired his gun in self-defense because he had heard a group of people outside the bathroom threatening to kill and rob him, but prosecutors said there was no evidence of anyone else in the house.
Lawyers also claimed that Borkowski was not aware that Refugio was transgender, but this was also disputed, as she had stated it on her Craigslist profile
Judge John O Craig sentenced Borkowski to four years and nine months in prison.
