Shooting suspect gets 90-day prison sentence
An Ellwood City man, accused of firing several rounds from a gun during a dispute with a neighbor, will spend the next 90 days behind bars after admitting to violating his probation in Butler County Court on Friday.
President Judge Thomas Doerr resentenced Austin R. Coburn, 20, to serve 90 days to 6 months in the Butler County Prison after an agreement was reached on his probation violation.
Coburn admitted that he failed to report as directed, continued to use marijuana, made no effort to find employment, failed to start community service, got new charges including disorderly conduct and was not paying his fines.
Coburn was initially sentenced April 26 to 12 months' probation, a $100 fine and 25 hours of community service after pleading guilty in March to misdemeanor firearms not to be carried without a license.
He was initially charged with felony firearms not to be carried without a license, which was reduced to the misdemeanor to which he pleaded, and misdemeanor recklessly endangering another person, which was later dismissed as part of the plea.
State police said Coburn fired several shots over a parking dispute on Sept. 9, 2016, after getting into an argument with another person over parking on the property on Hoot Owl Road.
Afterward, Coburn and his friend drove past the neighbor's home, and Coburn, who was in the front passenger seat, fired several rounds out his car window, according to court documents. The shots were fired into the woods but “in the vicinity” of the neighbor and four other people.
Police later talked to Coburn's friend, who admitted to driving the car, but denied knowing Coburn had a gun until he heard the defendant yelling out the window. The friend told police that Coburn fired “three to four shots with a silver pistol,” documents said. No injuries were reported.
