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Cab Driver Gets Justice after Williamsport Shooting

WILLIAMSPORT — The man who shot and robbed his cab driver back in 2014 was sentenced in Williamsport on Tuesday. “A bitter, bitter situation.”...

WILLIAMSPORT -- The man who shot and robbed his cab driver back in 2014 was sentenced in Williamsport on Tuesday.

"A bitter, bitter situation."

That's what Dante Washington's sister said in court before her brother was sentenced to 36 to 72 years in state prison.

In 2014, Washington robbed his cab driver, then shot him, almost killing him.

Nearly four years later, Dante Washington, 27, walked out of the back of the Lycoming County Courthouse knowing he will likely spend the next 36 to 72 years of his life in state prison.

About the same time, in the front of the courthouse, Eugene Phillips, the badly injured cab driver was embraced by his family.

"Great day, my daughter got married to begin with, and now we can put this behind us," Phillips said.

Phillips' scars have healed, but the memories from the night he was shot are harder to forget.

Back in 2014, Phillips picked up Washington in his cab and drove down an alley off Elmira Street in the city. That's where police say Washington took out a gun and demanded money.

Phillips says all he remembers of the early morning he was shot is that Washington told him, "I want it all."

"It's the last chapter of the book. I'm ready to move on," he said.

A jury found Washington guilty of attempted homicide back in December.

Before he was sentenced, he read a letter aloud in court saying, "I'm truly sorry for what happened. No one deserves what you have gone through."

"I accept his apology," Phillips said. "I know it's hard for him to say, but I accept what he said."

"It's just sad what happened," said the victim's daughter Lacy Swain. "We have no vengeance towards anybody. It's just sad what happened."

Amidst the tears, there was a sense of compassion from both families.

Washington said, "The mistake I made was leaving my family without a loved one."

Quality time is something the Phillips family takes full of advantage of now.

"Every day he has off and I have off we play the Wii and I'm so grateful I have those days," said Swain.

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