Right - shooting at the tires, hit the driver in the head. I can't tell you the number of times that's happened to me. I'll have to watch this guy if he shows up at the shooting range when I'm working - get out the body armor.
http://www.bonnercountydailybee.com/articles/2006/02/24/news/news02.txt
SANDPOINT -- A Priest River man who shot a repossession agent in the head has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and was sentenced to time served.
Bruce Allen Spaude was originally charged with attempted first-degree murder in connection with the Sept. 27, 2002, shooting, but the state ultimately reduced the charge because it was unable to prove Spaude opened fire intending to harm the man.
Spaude pleaded guilty on Feb. 16 to injuring another by careless discharge of a firearm, a misdemeanor. Spaude entered the plea in Kootenai County district court. Judge Charles Hosack sentenced Spaude to 180 days in jail with 153 days suspended. Hosack gave Spaude credit for the 27 days he has already spent behind bars.
Spaude, 41, shot Victor Grant in the head with a .22-caliber rifle as Grant drove away in Spaude's repossessed Dodge pickup truck. Grant, of Greenacres, Wash., survived the shooting.
Spaude's defense counsel, Brent Featherston, had argued the defendant thought his truck was being stolen and was shooting at the truck's tires.
The prosecution initially agreed to reduce the charge to aggravated assault, but the plea negotiations faltered when a judge declined to bind himself to sentencing recommendations. The attempted murder charge was reinstated only to be reduced to injuring another by discharging an aimed firearm.
Bonner County Prosecutor Phil Robinson concluded he could not prove Spaude actually fired the shots with the purpose of injuring or killing Grant. The charge was finally amended to careless handling/discharge of a firearm.
In addition to the suspended jail sentence, Hosack fined Spaude $300, imposed $72.50 in court costs and placed him on two years of unsupervised probation
http://www.bonnercountydailybee.com/articles/2006/02/24/news/news02.txt
SANDPOINT -- A Priest River man who shot a repossession agent in the head has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and was sentenced to time served.
Bruce Allen Spaude was originally charged with attempted first-degree murder in connection with the Sept. 27, 2002, shooting, but the state ultimately reduced the charge because it was unable to prove Spaude opened fire intending to harm the man.
Spaude pleaded guilty on Feb. 16 to injuring another by careless discharge of a firearm, a misdemeanor. Spaude entered the plea in Kootenai County district court. Judge Charles Hosack sentenced Spaude to 180 days in jail with 153 days suspended. Hosack gave Spaude credit for the 27 days he has already spent behind bars.
Spaude, 41, shot Victor Grant in the head with a .22-caliber rifle as Grant drove away in Spaude's repossessed Dodge pickup truck. Grant, of Greenacres, Wash., survived the shooting.
Spaude's defense counsel, Brent Featherston, had argued the defendant thought his truck was being stolen and was shooting at the truck's tires.
The prosecution initially agreed to reduce the charge to aggravated assault, but the plea negotiations faltered when a judge declined to bind himself to sentencing recommendations. The attempted murder charge was reinstated only to be reduced to injuring another by discharging an aimed firearm.
Bonner County Prosecutor Phil Robinson concluded he could not prove Spaude actually fired the shots with the purpose of injuring or killing Grant. The charge was finally amended to careless handling/discharge of a firearm.
In addition to the suspended jail sentence, Hosack fined Spaude $300, imposed $72.50 in court costs and placed him on two years of unsupervised probation
