FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A request has been rejected for a former South Florida deputy who had asked for a lighter sentence.
Justin Lambert faced a judge in a Fort Lauderdale courtroom Wednesday, pleading for his punishment to be modified.
The ex-deputy, who worked for the Broward Sheriff’s Office for 15 years, was convicted of battery against a teenager and falsifying records. He was sentenced to four years probation and weekends in jail back in 2019.
Surveillance video showed the moment he punched the teen before slamming him to the ground during a rough takedown at a Deerfield Beach gas station.
Lambert said he’s been struggling to find work ever since and feels like a failure to his own children.
“For eight years, I have to relive that day. For eight years, I’ve lived that day every single day that I wake up. I have to look at my kids and see them every morning, every afternoon and every day and feel like I’ve let them down,” said Lambert, “and even when people tell me, ‘Oh, I’m sorry. You’re not employable with your status,’ I still keep trying to apply.”
The judge didn’t budge, however.
Lambert will continue serving the rest of his sentence.
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