Man sentenced for shooting
A 20-year-old man faces two and a half to eight years in state prison for shooting a man last year as he slept in his West Brady Street apartment.
Jase William Charlton, 20, who had pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, on Tuesday was sentenced by Butler County Judge William Shaffer.
According to court records, about 4 a.m. July 20, 2015, Charlton fired a shotgun round through a bedroom window of the first-floor apartment.
The round struck 21-year-old Brandon K. Fairtrace in his head and face. Fairtrace, who was in bed with his girlfriend, was critically injured.
In previous hearings, he said he spent time in a medically-induced coma and suffers continued serious optical injury.
Charlton when questioned by police reportedly confessed to the shooting.
Although police have alleged the two men are in rival groups of friends, Charlton never said why he shot Fairtrace.
Charlton initially faced additional charges, including attempted homicide, that were withdrawn as part of a plea arrangement with the county district attorney.
During the sentencing hearing, Judge Shaffer noted that Charlton’s involvement with the criminal justice system began when he was a juvenile and continued. Charlton was on probation for a 2015 felony conviction for receiving stolen property.
At the time of sentencing in the new case, Charlton still owed just more than $3,000 in fines and restitution in that case, according to court records.
In issuing his sentence, the judge told Charlton that he still would be a young man when he is released from prison, and he should take advantage of programs available while he is incarcerated.
Fairtrace did not attend court for Charlton’s sentencing.
Charlton made no statement in court.
Fairtrace is in the prison facing legal problems of his own, stemming from the same day.
After the shooting, Butler police charged Fairtrace with felony drug possession because they found more than a pound of marijuana and $17,000 in currency while searching his home for evidence in the shooting, according to court records.
He remains in the county prison on $50,000 bail.
