Calif. man gets life in prison for orchestrating late wife's doctor's shooting death

LODI, Calif. (TCD) -- An 83-year-old man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for orchestrating the death of his late wife's podiatrist.

On March 6, Honorable Judge Lauren P. Thomasson sentenced Robert Elmo Lee to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office announced. Lee was convicted of first-degree murder with a special circumstance of murder for financial gain in March 2022.

In August 2018, Lee planned Dr. Thomas Shock's slaying while Raymond Austin Hassan Jacquett IV, Christopher Anthony Costello, and Mallory Stewart carried out the shooting, KXTV-TV reports.

Jacquett acted as the getaway driver while Stewart reportedly shot Shock. Investigators believe Costello was at the scene based on recovered evidence.

Officials learned Lee's wife was one of Shock's patients, and in 2014, she underwent a partial foot amputation due to an ingrown toenail. Afterward, she filed a complaint against Shock with the California Board of Podiatric Medicine, KOVR-TV reports.

A couple years later, in March 2016, KXTV reports Lee's wife died from a related infection. That same year, Shock was reportedly placed on probation, and after another violation, he gave up his medical license in 2018.

In a statement, District Attorney Ron Freitas said, "Mr. Lee twisted a devotion for his late wife into a perverse obsession with Dr. Shock, one that led to inexcusable violence."

Freitas continued, "I want to commend former San Joaquin County Deputy District Attorney Edward “Ted” McGarvey for his tenacity in seeking justice for the Shock family, as well as the Lodi Police Department for their investigative skill."

According to the District Attorney's Office, Stewart recently pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and a weapons enhancement charge, and in 2021, Costello was found guilty for his participating role.

In December 2019, Jacquett was sentenced to 15 years to life in state prison for his role as the getaway driver, the District Attorney's Office said.

MORE:

• Lodi Man Sentenced in Murder of Dr. Thomas Shock - San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office
• Man Sentenced for His Role in Killing of Lodi Podiatrist Dr. Thomas Shock, 12/3/2019 - San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office
• DA: Man who killed Lodi podiatrist blamed him for wife's death - KXTV
• Lodi man sentenced to life for orchestrating murder of beloved podiatrist Dr. Thomas Shock - KOVR
• Lodi Man Convicted of First Degree Murder in Death of Dr. Thomas Shock, Lodi Podiatrist, 3/24/2022 - San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office