KERNERSVILLE, N.C. (WGHP) — The man who shot Kernersville Police Officer Sean Houle has been sentenced, bookending a saga that began almost two years ago to the day.

On Monday, a judge accepted Quinton Blocker’s plea deal and sentenced him to serve from 407 to 513 months, or roughly 33 to 43 years, in a state prison.

Blocker was accused of shooting Houle in the face, arm and hand on Feb. 21, 2021. Houle had pulled over a car for traffic violations, but prosecutors say Blocker ran off. Houle later spotted him and confronted him. In the struggle, Blocker took Houle’s gun and shot him with it.

Blocker faced charges of attempted first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting injury and assault with a firearm on a law enforcement officer. He pleaded guilty to all charges.

This was his second sentence connected to the shooting. In April 2022, Blocker pleaded guilty to two federal charges: possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of a stolen firearm. One of the guns was his own, and one was Houle’s. At the time, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The two sentences will run concurrently, meaning at the same time.

Houle now says he’s happy that he can move on with his life.

“A huge weight off my shoulders,” Houle said. “I can finally move on now, my family and I, without having to give this part of the process a thought anymore, for a very, very, very long time at least.”

Doctors at the time said Houle had a “unicorn-style” injury, and that the projection of the bullet caused the rare style of injury.

Houle and his K9 Jax both retired at the end of 2021, but Houle says he found a new purpose: telling his story about his brush with death to other officers at different police departments around the country.

After the shooting, Houle retired from law enforcement. He now works for the Bill Graham Rapid Response Team. He says he is also looking forward to teaching law enforcement leadership classes.

You can read our full coverage of Sean Houle’s inspiring recovery here.