SAN ANTONIO — Jurors sentenced Anton Harris to more than 99 years in prison in the second round of deliberations in his rape trial.
He was sentenced to 99 years for aggravated sexual assault and 60 years for aggravated robbery.
They found Harris guilty of aggravated sexual assault and aggravated robbery last week. The 20-year-old faces five years to life in prison for targeting, assaulting and robbing several women in the Medical Center between June of 2016 and May of 2017, while he was still in high school.
Monday, the defense called Harris' friend, mother and high school sweetheart to the stand. Each of them believes Harris deserves a second chance.
"I don't think he did this," said Alexandra Garza, Harris' former girlfriend.
The state did not ask any questions of Garza or Harris' mother. Both sides moved on to closing arguments by 10:30 a.m.
The state is asking for jurors to consider the victims in the sentencing phase. They said the young women were "shattered" by Harris' actions.
"Give them back a sense of safety, send their attacker to prison," said the state. "Give him a life sentence because that's what he deserves."
The state said jurors shouldn't look at Harris as a child.
"He's a man, not a boy, not a kid," said the state. "He committed acts no man should ever commit and he deserves to be punished like the man he is."
The victims said they were raped either by gunpoint or knifepoint by their attacker. One victim took the stand with her therapy dog on Friday in order to get through her testimony.
Harris' attorneys are asking jurors look at the entire range of punishment. They are asking for a 30-year sentence so he can have a chance at life after prison.
"You shouldn't hate him, but it's okay to hate what he did," said the defense. "Put him in there until he's 50. Let him think about this."
Harris also applied for community supervision since he has no prior criminal record.
Daryl Harris with the Bexar County District Attorney's Office said Harris could get out early on parole, but he'll still spend several decades in prison before he's eligible for that.
"They gave the legal equivalent to life on both sentences, which is what we thought was appropriate," Harris said.
Harris' attorney, Jonathan Watkins, said they respect the jury's decision, but this isn't the end for his client. Harris does plan to file an appeal.