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Buck
Glen Alan Buck said he was afraid people parked in an SUV in front of his car on Aug. 11, 2008, in Glendale were going to kill him, so he brandished a rifle and shot it into the air to get them to “back off and leave him alone.”
But those who were in the SUV said they were the ones who feared for their lives that night.
Buck presented his side of the story during a sentencing hearing on assault and weapons charges Monday before Douglas County Circuit Court Judge Joan Seitz. His defense attorney, David Hall, asked the judge for leniency in light of the fact Buck feared the occupants of the other vehicle would harm him.
He asked the judge to sentence Buck to serve on a county work crew rather than 30 days in jail for his actions that night.
But although Seitz said she assumed Buck was telling the truth and was afraid of the people in the SUV, she said discharging a firearm was an “overreaction. You could have killed somebody, but for the grace of God, you didn't.”
She sentenced him to 30 days in jail with credit for time he already served, described by the judge as “a couple days.” Buck was taken into custody after the hearing to complete the sentence.
Seitz also sentenced Buck to 36 months of probation for each of three charges of first-degree attempted assault and each of three charges of unlawful use of a weapon. On Oct. 29, Buck pleaded no contest to the those charges.
He will serve the sentences concurrently. The judge dismissed another 23 charges as Buck had agreed to the prosecution's offer of serving 36 months of probation for the other six charges.
Hall told the judge that to understand why Buck was afraid of the occupants of the vehicle, she had to hear the “back story.”
He said Buck, 52, of Glendale, says he told the Douglas County Sheriff's Office the names of three juveniles who broke into an elderly woman's house in Glendale and stole some high-end liquor and valuable coins.
Since then, Buck claims he has had the door to his apartment kicked in and the juveniles have threatened him and his daughter-in-law. And when Buck saw the SUV parked on Pacific Avenue that August evening, he thought its occupants were tied to the juveniles.
After he pulled up behind the vehicle, Buck told the judge, its occupants piled out of the car and walked toward him. They then followed him as he turned onto Fifth Street and then on to Willis Avenue.
At that point, he said, “I wasn't in fear of my life, I knew my life was in danger.”
“I held the gun out of my window where they could see that I was annoyed and to back off and leave me alone,” he said. When they didn't, he said he shot it off in the air. He said he shot it in the air one more time later for the same reason, but never shot at the SUV.
According to Deputy District Attorney Steve Hoddle, the victims told police Buck pulled up behind them on Pacific Avenue, flashed his headlights at them and then pulled around and in front of them.
They claim he then stuck a rifle out his window and fired at their vehicle. They say they then drove to a vacant lot at the corner of Third Street and Pacific and “crouched down inside” the vehicle as they feared for their lives.
They allege Buck shot at their vehicle there, too. They claim they don't know Buck and don't want any contact with him.
A jogger in the area that night told investigators he heard three gunshots in the area. When he went to investigate, he saw Buck allegedly shooting at the vehicle.
Another woman said she drove past Buck on Pacific Avenue and he pointed a rifle at her.
A bullet hole was found in the right fender of the vehicle, Hoddle said.
None of the victims nor the witness spoke at the hearing.
Seitz also ordered Buck to pay about $1,500 of restitution to cover repairs to the vehicle that had a bullet hole in it. At Hoddle's request, she ordered Buck to have no contact with the victims.
But those who were in the SUV said they were the ones who feared for their lives that night.
Buck presented his side of the story during a sentencing hearing on assault and weapons charges Monday before Douglas County Circuit Court Judge Joan Seitz. His defense attorney, David Hall, asked the judge for leniency in light of the fact Buck feared the occupants of the other vehicle would harm him.
He asked the judge to sentence Buck to serve on a county work crew rather than 30 days in jail for his actions that night.
But although Seitz said she assumed Buck was telling the truth and was afraid of the people in the SUV, she said discharging a firearm was an “overreaction. You could have killed somebody, but for the grace of God, you didn't.”
She sentenced him to 30 days in jail with credit for time he already served, described by the judge as “a couple days.” Buck was taken into custody after the hearing to complete the sentence.
Seitz also sentenced Buck to 36 months of probation for each of three charges of first-degree attempted assault and each of three charges of unlawful use of a weapon. On Oct. 29, Buck pleaded no contest to the those charges.
He will serve the sentences concurrently. The judge dismissed another 23 charges as Buck had agreed to the prosecution's offer of serving 36 months of probation for the other six charges.
Hall told the judge that to understand why Buck was afraid of the occupants of the vehicle, she had to hear the “back story.”
He said Buck, 52, of Glendale, says he told the Douglas County Sheriff's Office the names of three juveniles who broke into an elderly woman's house in Glendale and stole some high-end liquor and valuable coins.
Since then, Buck claims he has had the door to his apartment kicked in and the juveniles have threatened him and his daughter-in-law. And when Buck saw the SUV parked on Pacific Avenue that August evening, he thought its occupants were tied to the juveniles.
After he pulled up behind the vehicle, Buck told the judge, its occupants piled out of the car and walked toward him. They then followed him as he turned onto Fifth Street and then on to Willis Avenue.
At that point, he said, “I wasn't in fear of my life, I knew my life was in danger.”
“I held the gun out of my window where they could see that I was annoyed and to back off and leave me alone,” he said. When they didn't, he said he shot it off in the air. He said he shot it in the air one more time later for the same reason, but never shot at the SUV.
According to Deputy District Attorney Steve Hoddle, the victims told police Buck pulled up behind them on Pacific Avenue, flashed his headlights at them and then pulled around and in front of them.
They claim he then stuck a rifle out his window and fired at their vehicle. They say they then drove to a vacant lot at the corner of Third Street and Pacific and “crouched down inside” the vehicle as they feared for their lives.
They allege Buck shot at their vehicle there, too. They claim they don't know Buck and don't want any contact with him.
A jogger in the area that night told investigators he heard three gunshots in the area. When he went to investigate, he saw Buck allegedly shooting at the vehicle.
Another woman said she drove past Buck on Pacific Avenue and he pointed a rifle at her.
A bullet hole was found in the right fender of the vehicle, Hoddle said.
None of the victims nor the witness spoke at the hearing.
Seitz also ordered Buck to pay about $1,500 of restitution to cover repairs to the vehicle that had a bullet hole in it. At Hoddle's request, she ordered Buck to have no contact with the victims.
