Man who shot rifle into home sentenced
While family members sobbed only feet away, Jesse Dallas Hills, struggling to control his own emotions, apologized for shooting a rifle into a westside home and at a motorist nearly five years ago. Then he was led away to begin a three-and-ahalf-year prison sentence.
“I am so sorry for what happened,” Hills said Friday near the conclusion of his sentencing hearing in Lethbridge Court of Queen’s Bench.
“I cannot change anything that’s happened, all I can do is better my life.”
Hills, 29, pleaded guilty Nov. 28, 2016 to single charges of discharging a firearm into a home with reckless disregard, pointing a firearm, unauthorized possession of a firearm and mischief causing damage under $5,000.
Although he said he doesn’t remember the incident, Hills agreed that about midnight May 6, 2014 he loaded a .303 rifle and, with a baseball bat, walked around the neighbourhoods of Mount Rundle Way and Mount Rundle Road West.
A man had climbed into his car after attending a nearby house party and was driving away when Hills swung his bat at the vehicle. The driver turned around but Hills dropped to one knee and fired a rifle in the man’s direction. He also approached a parked car and after attempting to enter it, smashed a window.
Shortly afterward Hills walked up a residential driveway and fired three rounds into the home. One bullet smashed through the living room window and went through an interior wall into a computer room occupied by the homeowner. The homeowner, who saw Hills standing in his driveway with the rifle, awakened his wife in their bedroom then hit the alarm on his security system. They ran to the basement and called 911. Police arrived shortly afterward and arrested Hills.
Court was told during a previous hearing that Hills was on strong pain medication for an injured back and, during a barbecue, had consumed a considerable amount of alcohol. He only recalls going to bed and waking later in the day in a police cell.
Lethbridge lawyer Greg White asked for a sentence of only 90 days to be served on weekends for the charge of discharging a firearm into the home. He suggested Hills be given a conditional sentence of two years less a day for the remaining charges, during which he would be under house arrest.
White admitted the sentence is outside the normal range for such offences, but said Hills worked hard to rehabilitate himself since the offences, including treatment for alcoholism, and he hasn’t breached any of his bail conditions in that time.
Alternatively, he suggested two to three years in prison would be an appropriate sentence.
Crown prosecutor Vaughan Hartigan, however, said White’s suggestion for a conditional sentence is the result of a “creative application” of sentencing options. He said the conditional sentence and 90-day intermittent jail term is not appropriate given the serious nature of the offences, and he recommended a five-year sentence; four years for discharging the firearm and one year for the remaining charges.
Justice Rodney A. Jerke acknowledged Hill’s commendable and “meaningful” efforts to improve his life the past several years, and said Hills is already making restitution for the damage he caused and is genuinely sorry for what he did.
“Mr. Hills has expressed remorse; I would call it deep remorse,” Jerke said.
But Jerke reminded those in the courtroom of the serious nature of the offences and the injury his actions could have caused. And even though no one was physically hurt, the victims have difficulty sleeping, suffer anxiety and depression, and have flashbacks and nightmares.
Jerke subtracted 106 days from Hill’s sentence for time he spent in custody following his arrest, but could not grant Hill’s request to delay sending him to jail for one week so he could say goodbye to his young daughter and the rest of his family, some of whom attended the hearing Friday and sobbed as he was led from the courtroom to begin his sentence.
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