ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The man who killed a Rochester father in front of his two young children was sentenced to 22 years in state prison on Tuesday. Jarrod Dozier, 35, pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter in the killing of Terry Howard Jr.

Investigators say Dozier targeted Howard, ambushing him while Howard was sitting in a parked car on Norton Street.  Howard’s two children were in the back seat of the car at the time of the shooting. 

Outside of the courtroom on Tuesday, Howard’s parents spoke with News10NBC about their son.

“Terry was a wonderful person, I just couldn’t believe when I got the phone call that they were talking about my son Terry; I’ve always told him to respect everybody and work things out no matter what,” said his mother, Tammy Maxwell.    

Maxwell says she still doesn’t know why her son was targeted. “To murder somebody in front of their kids is just, beyond my wildest dreams of someone doing that, only a monster could do that,” she wonders. 

Howard’s kids are now 8 and 9 years old.  The youngest lives with Maxwell and Howard’s father, Terry Howard Sr.

“He’s still dealing with the trauma, and it hurts me to see him hurting,” says Howard Sr. The toll of not only losing his dad but watching it happen — “he’s crying out, we try to help him but you just don’t know what to do sometimes,” Howard Sr. says.

“I have to talk to him every day and remind him that your dad is watching over you, your dad loves you and you will see him again,” adds Maxwell. 

Howard’s parents are people of faith, which they credit for getting them through the days; as for the man who killed their son, “I trust God, and like I said, I hope that he sees my son’s face every day behind those walls and regrets what he’s done,” Maxwell says. 

Dozier was released from prison on a separate gun possession charge less than 40 days before he shot and killed Howard.  Howard’s family doesn’t think the two even knew each other. 

When asked if he had anything to say during sentencing, Dozier started with an apology to Howard’s family and friends saying he recognizes the error of his ways.  He then went on to say, “Please don’t allow the ignorance of my actions to blacken your hearts.”