Ex-School Board Member Turned Shooting Spree Suspect, Solomon Stinson, To Be Released After Plea Deal

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Former Miami-Dade School Board member Solomon Stinson is ready to be released from jail after he was arrested following a shooting spree with police officers.

"We thank you for all you've done, in the name of Jesus how you covered Dr. Stinson," said a loved one praying outside the courtroom.

Family and friends were in court Thursday morning, grateful that 81-year-old Dr. Solomon Stinson will not be heading to prison.

He was accused of going on a shooting spree on June 2 in West Broward, including firing at police officers and several other people.

Prosecutors agreed to drop three attempted murder charges, which could have sent him to prison for life. In exchange, he plead guilty to several other counts,

"You're going to plead guilty to count 4, shooting at or into an occupied vehicle, counts 5,6,7 aggravated assault with a deadly weapon," stated Broward Circuit Judge Martin Fein.

As part of the agreement, Stinson will be under house arrest for 2 years and on probation for eight.

He will live in an assisted living facility for now, that deals with dementia patients.  He also has Parkinson's disease.

His attorney said when the shooting took place, Dr. Stinson did not know what was going on and had no memory.

"Given the totality of all the evaluations and examinations that show that he clearly did not know what was going on at the time of the incident played a role into this," said Stinson's defense attorney David Kubiliun.

Stinson is well-known in Miami-Dade schools.  He spent years on the school board and retired in 2010.

"We have to remember, Dr. Stinson is a staple to the Miami Dade community," said Kubiliun. "You're talking about a gentleman that's given over 50 years of his life to serving the children of Miami-Dade county. This guy, in my estimation, is a legend."