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Alberta farmer sentenced to 90 days in jail for shooting ATV thief
http://www.vancouversun.com/news ... /5521409/story.html
Alberta farmer Brian Russell Knight sentenced to 90 days in jail for shooting ATV thief
By Alexandra Zabjek, Postmedia News October 7, 2011 9:06 PM
EDMONTON — A central Alberta farmer who shot an ATV thief who crept onto his property was sentenced Friday to 90 days in jail.
The case of Brian Russell Knight had become a cause celebre among property rights activists, sparked debate about vigilante justice, and even drew comments from former premier Ed Stelmach who said he understood why Knight's neighbours rallied behind him and set up a trust fund to aid his legal defence.
But a lawyer for the 41-year-old Tees-area farmer could not convince a Red Deer judge that Knight should receive no jail time for shooting Harold Groening on March 26, 2009.
Knight will be allowed to serve his sentence on weekends in Red Deer's remand centre. He is also under the supervision of a probation officer.
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The Crown had argued for a 90-day sentence. The defence wanted a conditional discharge, which would have left Knight without a criminal record after a period of probation.
Knight pleaded guilty in January to causing bodily harm by criminal negligence.
Court has previously heard that Groening and two other men went onto Knight's farm that night, and silently pushed an ATV, with keys in the ignition, to a rural road. All three men were under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
As the men struggled to lift the four-wheeler into the back of their truck on the road, the noise awoke Knight and his wife. After lights turned on at the farm, two of the thieves drove away in the truck, while Groening took the ATV. Knight pursued Groening in a car.
The two vehicles collided when Groening tried to veer across the road. He and the ATV were thrown in the ditch, yet Groening got to his feet and began running through a field.
Knight stopped his vehicle, raised a 12-gauge shotgun and aimed it in the general direction of the ATV thief.
Court has previously heard the shotgun was loaded with a "light type of birdshot" that struck Groening, who fell to the ground. When he got up, Knight fired again, though Groening continued to flee.
Knight then recruited his brother and other local farmers to help find the man who had tried to steal his ATV. When Groening was found, he was brought back to Knight's property and the RCMP called.
Groening, 32, who was briefly hospitalized after the incident, pleaded guilty to theft under $5,000 on April 22, 2010, and was sentenced to 30 days in jail.
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發表於 2011-10-7 22:46
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