Man sentenced for shooting off-duty Philadelphia police lieutenant in 2020

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The man who shot and seriously wounded an off-duty police lieutenant in a South Philadelphia CVS in 2020 was sentenced to 25 1/2 to 51 years in prison, District Attorney Larry Krasner announced Monday.

On May 29 of that year, just after his shift had ended, Lt. Robert Friel responded to a call about an armed and suicidal man inside the store, according to the district attorney. Friel, a 28-year Police Department veteran, attempted to subdue the man, Richard Kralle, who had been reported missing by his family. During the struggle, Kralle pulled a gun and shot Friel in the leg.

Kralle then tried to steal another officer's service weapon, said Krasner.

"The injury required life-saving measures on the scene and emergency surgery later," said Krasner, "in addition to four major surgeries following the incident."

The defendant pleaded no contest to two counts of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer, robbery and gun offenses, said the D.A.