Brian Cloninger, who was convicted of shooting then 8-year-old Donald “D.J.” Maiden in the face, spoke out from from jail.
His wife contacted NBC 5 and said he wanted to talk. Last month, Cloninger was sentenced to 45 years in prison.
He told NBC 5 he feels terrible about what happened, but he was drugged by someone before it happened.
Maiden was shot in the face in 2013, and has endured surgeries to repair his face.
Cloninger told NBC 5 that he went to the apartment complex to see a transgender prostitute. He said he had one beer, and the prostitute began a massage. He says at some point he was drugged. The next thing he knew, he was back in his truck, and said he saw adults outside his truck.
“I am sorry. I would do anything I could to change this, but the fact is I did not see Donald in the parking lot and tell him to keep walking, and then walk towards him, pull a gun and shoot him in the face. That did not happen," Cloninger said. I shot Donald because I thought I was being robbed by adults.”
Cloninger said the person to blame is the prostitute he believes drugged him.
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“So you are saying shooting D.J. maiden is not your fault?“ asked NBC 5’s Julie Fine. “Absolutely not,“ Cloninger answered.
NBC 5 then said to him that there will likely be many people who don’t believe him. His response, “Then get the evidence and look at it yourself.“
After the interview, NBC 5 contacted D.J. Maiden’s grandmother, Sharon Locklin, who said “No matter if he was drugged or not, he has still ruined a child’s life. No matter how drugged you are, you should still know the difference between an adult and a child. D.J is very relieved he is in jail."
