Man imprisoned for shooting incident

Peterson fired as many as 60 shots at neighbor's home

SANDPOINT - A Samuels man accused of opening fire on a neighbor's home and possessing stolen vehicles was sentenced to up to eight years in prison on Monday.

Jason Colbert Peterson will have to serve at least two years before he becomes eligible for parole, according to the terms of the sentence imposed by District Judge James Patrick Luster.

Peterson, 31, was accused of unleashing a torrent of gunfire on a man's mobile home in December 2006. The home's occupant escaped injury despite the fact that up to 60 shots from a .22-caliber weapon pelted the home, court documents indicate.

While that case was pending, Peterson was charged with possessing a Toyota pickup truck stolen from a parking lot on Schweitzer Mountain. He was also charged with stealing a Ford Bronco from another neighbor in August 2007. The Bronco's owner was identified as a defense witness in the shooting case, records show.

The Toyota pickup truck and its contents have never been recovered.

Peterson ultimately accepted a plea deal in which he accepted responsibility in the shooting case in exchange for the other two felony charges being reduced to a using a vehicle without the owner's permission, a misdemeanor.

Bonner County Deputy Prosecutor Jim Stow recommended a suspended prison sentence of two to five years and 90 days in jail with credit for time served on the shooting charge. Chief Deputy Public Defender Janet Whitney made a similar recommendation and asked Luster to retain jurisdiction if prison time was imposed. If jurisdiction is retained, a defendant could become eligible for probation after serving six months.

Friends and family of Peterson testified on Monday that he had a troubled childhood and an alcohol problem. But since his recent scrapes with the law, Peterson has been sober, employed and law-abiding, they said.

Luster, however, admonished Peterson for putting his neighbor's life in jeopardy by firing on the home, a sanctuary where everybody deserves to feel safe and secure. He also noted that the victims of the thefts will never be made whole despite restitution, which is still pending.

Luster also imposed two 180-day sentences on the joyriding charges. Those sentences will run concurrently with the prison sentence.