Local man sentenced in accidental shooting
KEITH KINNAIRD | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 6 years, 7 months AGO
SANDPOINT — Leniency was shown Monday to an Elmira man who accidentally shot a teen in the face while target shooting.
Brandon Guy Bowman was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and injuring another via discharged firearm in connection with the May 2017 incident.
The boy’s injury was initially attributed to a motorcycle crash, although the boy’s mother found that explanation dubious due to the lack of any other injuries on his body, according to court documents.
The wound, inflicted by a .22-caliber round, was described in court documents as a grazing wound that extended from below his chin to the side of the neck. It measured 7 centimeters long, which translates to about 2.76 inches, court documents indicate.
Bowman ultimately admitted the teen was shot accidentally when confronted by Bonner County sheriff’s deputies and the teen ultimately recovered from his wound.
Bowman, 44, entered into a plea agreement which dismissed the misdemeanor wounding charge in exchange for a plea to the felony firearm possession charge. Bowman was barred from possessing firearms due to a 2007 conviction for third-degree assault in Stevens County, Wash.
A plea agreement in the case recommended a suspended two- to four-year prison term, 30 days of local incarceration and two years of unsupervised probation.
Given how perilously close the teen to came to becoming more gravely injured or even killed, Bonner County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Shane Greenbank considered the plea agreement to be generous.
“I do believe the recommendation from the state in this instance is extremely reasonable,” Greenbank said.
Bowman’s defense counsel, Sandpoint attorney Jeremy Featherston, said his client recognized the severity of the incident and the knowledge that he injured the teen has and will continue to take a toll.
“Frankly, the impact on him is heavier than anything the court can impose,” said Featherston.
The alleged victim, now 17, argued for leniency due to the accidental nature of the episode.
“I don’t feel like there should be a great penalty,” the teen told 1st District Judge Barbara Buchanan.
Bowman also asked for a bit of mercy with regard to the custodial portion of his sentence as it could bankrupt his long-haul trucking business.
“We would be done,” Bowman said, referring to the impact of an uninterrupted 30-day term.
Buchanan agreed the shooting was accidental, although she took issue with Bowman’s initial denial of the true facts of the matter.
“You lied and you had (the alleged victim) lie,” Buchanan observed.
Nevertheless, Buchanan agreed to grant leniency partly due to Bowman’s positive contribution to the community as a business owner. She imposed a suspended one- to three-year prison term and ordered him to serve 10 days of local incarceration on weekends. He was also fined $200 and ordered to pay nearly $350 in court costs.
Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.
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