A Minneapolis basketball coach who fired a gun at a parent was sentenced to just six months in a county workhouse and fined $300, despite the strong objection of the local prosecutor, KMSP-TV reported Thursday.
Paul Hill, 45, pleaded guilty to second-degree assault last week.
He was sentenced Wednesday to 36 months in prison, but Judge Daniel Moreno stayed the imposition of the sentence for five years. If Hill does not violate his terms of probation, he will spend no time in prison and the felony will be reduced to a misdemeanor.
The penalty levied is a substantial departure from the three-year prison term called for by Minnesota sentencing guidelines.
In explaining the decision, Moreno pointed to Hill's clean record and community service.
"Today, I'm faced with a father of seven, who is gainfully employed, who doesn't come here with a record, who has made contributions to the community through his coaching and who has shepherded his children through life's troubled waters," Moreno said. "The easy thing would be to send you to prison. But I am faced with a person with an exemplary life up to this point. I can't ignore that."
Assistant Hennepin County Attorney Dan Allard told Moreno that the sentencing guidelines take into account Hill's clean record.
"This was not a gut reaction," Allard said. "He left the gym, got in his car, drove away, got a gun and came back."
Hill and Patrick Adams, who knew each other previously, got into an argument and shoving match at a YWCA Sept. 29. Hill drove away and returned with a .22 caliber handgun. He shot at Adams from his truck in the parking lot, but Adams was unhurt.
Adams, a father of six and grandfather of one, was angry at the light sentence and asked Allard to read his victim impact statement. He said his wife and children were "severely affected" by the attempted shooting.
