A 58-year-old Chicora man was sentenced Thursday to 126 to 276 months in state prison after he pleaded guilty to shooting another man in the chest with a sawed-off shotgun inside a bar in 2018.

Gary Ellenberger of Chicora was sentenced immediately after pleading guilty to a felony charge of attempted homicide for shooting Heath Schrecengost of Karns City, who was 27 at the time.Before Common Pleas Judge Timothy McCune ordered the sentence, Schrecengost and family members told him that Schrecengost spent a month in UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh following the shooting. He said he underwent multiple surgeries and was in a coma for two weeks.The shooting occurred at 1:43 a.m. on Sept. 2, 2018, at the Millerstown Inn in Chicora, where Schrecengost was with friends.Schrecengost didn't recall the shooting, but said he remembers waking up in the hospital. He said the scars on his chest from surgery provide daily reminders of the incident.He said the loss of blood he experienced left permanent nerve damage in his feet. He said it took two months of physical therapy to enable him to walk again, and his young daughter saw him struggle.“It's been traumatizing,” Schrecengost said.His brother, Jared Schrecengost, said the family took Heath's then-7-year-old daughter to see him in the hospital when he was in a coma with tubes connecting him to medical equipment because they didn't know if he was going to survive.Jared Schrecengost said his brother's toes turned black from a lack of blood, and doctors considered amputation.Jared Schrecengost; the victim's mother, Janet Heller; and his aunt, Nichole Heller; asked McCune to impose the maximum sentence on Ellenberger.“Gary Ellenberger is a monster,” Janet Heller said. “He shot him for no reason.”Seeing her son in a coma and trying to explain what happened to his daughter was a nightmare, she said.“No family deserved what we went through,” Nichole Heller said.Several other family members also attended the sentencing.Ellenberger, who was being held in jail without bail, apologized to the family, saying he didn't know why he shot Schrecengost.Before the incident, he said he was taken off the psychological medication he had been taking and was prescribed medical marijuana.He said he was sick and lost 35 pounds and didn't know why until he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in the county prison.“I want to tell the family I had no clue what was going on,” Ellenberger said. “I wouldn't have done that if I knew what I was doing. I'm so sorry. I don't know why I did it. I don't understand.”He said he read a report that detailed the medical treatment Schrecengost went through.“I'm sorry,” Ellenberger said. “I'm so sorry. I hope you all accept my apology.”He said he has been praying for the family since he was arrested and will continue to pray for them.In addition to his prison term, his sentence included paying $15,413 in restitution to a fund that pays medical bills for crime victims.No action was taken on other charges filed by state police against Ellenberger, including a felony count of aggravated assault and misdemeanor charges of recklessly endangering another person, simple assault, an offensive weapons charge and a summary count of harassment.Assistant District Attorney Ben Simon prosecuted the case, and Ellenberger was represented by attorney David DeFazio.

Gary Ellenberger