A Houston man was sentenced Thursday to 50 years for shooting a deputy constable in the legs seven times, severely wounding him in 2017, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.

“Our law enforcement officers are out on the streets every day and night to protect us and try to help,” Ogg said. “And when someone intentionally shoots one of our officers, we will take it to trial to get justice, to ensure that they spend the rest of their life behind bars.”

Constantine Argyriou, 44, was sentenced by the same Harris County jury that convicted of him of aggravated assault of a public servant, a first-degree felony that carries the same range of punishment as a murder charge.

During a five-day trial, jurors heard evidence that Precinct 4 Constable’s Deputy Justin Gay was called to Argyriou’s home in northwest Houston in response to family violence in progress.

When Gay arrived, witnesses flagged down the deputy to tell him that Argyriou was out of the house but nearby in a grassy area.

The deputy found him and attempted to detain him. The two struggled on the grass. While Argyriou was on the ground as the officer tried to handcuff him, Argyriou pulled a pistol and shot the deputy. Argyriou then stood over Gay, shot him several more times in the legs and ran away. He was arrested about a mile away, and the Harris County Sheriff’s Office investigated.

The deputy was flown by LifeFlight to Memorial Hermann Hospital in the Texas Medical Center in critical condition. He survived and was able to walk again four months after the incident. Although he was able to return to work as a peace officer, he testified that the injuries left him with chronic pain.

Assistant District Attorneys Sepi Zimmer and Bryan Honeycutt, who are both chiefs in the Major Offenders Division of the District Attorney’s Office, prosecuted Argyriou.

“We’re proud of the jury for telling the community that we will stand up for law enforcement in Harris County,” Zimmer said. “They said, emphatically, that anybody who shoots cops will go to prison for a long, long time.”

Argyriou, 44, must serve at least half of the prison sentence before the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles considers him for parole.

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