Arizona man gets life in prison for shootings

PHOENIX (Reuters) - An Arizona man who was one of two serial shooters who terrorized the Phoenix area three years ago was spared the death penalty on Wednesday and sentenced to life in prison.

A Maricopa County Superior Court jury found Samuel Dieteman should be given life without parole for two of the murders committed during a 14-month random shooting spree with roommate Dale Hausner.

Eight people were killed and 17 were wounded during the attacks.

"I am truly sorry for the pain that I've caused to many, many people," Dieteman said after the verdict. He thanked the court for treating him like "a human being."

Dieteman, 33, could have been sentenced to die by lethal injection. He had already confessed to the killings and testified against Hausner under a plea deal with prosecutors.

In March, a jury sentenced Hausner to six death sentences for his role in the nighttime shootings of people and animals in 2005 and 2006.

During the two-week trial, Dieteman testified he took full responsibility for his actions that claimed the lives of Robin Blasnek, 22, and Claudia Gutierrez-Cruz, 20, in separate incidents.

Hausner and Dieteman were taken into custody in August 2006 after an exhaustive investigation by police.

The shootings brought to mind the 2002 "Beltway" sniper attacks in which two gunmen killed 10 people and wounded three in Washington, Virginia and Maryland.

(Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Peter Cooney)