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(NewsDakota.com) – A man shot by Jamestown police officers after allegedly pointing a loaded shotgun at them will not serve any immediate jail time.
A jury found Michael Alvin Partlow guilty of terrorizing on March 16, but found he did not inflict or attempt to inflict bodily injury during the act of terrorizing.
Officers were called to an apartment building in Jamestown in September, 2010, after a report of a suicidal man. Partlow came out of the building and allegedly pointed a loaded shotgun at the officers before they shot Partlow several times, seriously injuring him.
On Monday, Southeast District judge Thomas Merrick sentenced Partlow to two years with the North Dakota Department of Corrections, with both years suspended. Partlow will not serve any time in jail as long as he successfully completes five years of supervised probation. Partlow was also ordered to pay $550 in fees and will need to complete 150 hours of community service.
Merrick said Monday the reason he did not sentence Partlow to immediate jail time is because of the injuries Partlow suffered in the incident and the time he already spent in the hospital. Partlow’s attorney Tatum Lindbo said he was in a Fargo hospital for at least 20 days following the incident, and then spent at least 28 days in the North Dakota State Hospital.
Partlow has since undergone therapy and counseling and is set to complete therapy this month, his attorney said. He is also off all anti-depressants and narcotics, she said.
An emotional Partlow spoke briefly before sentencing Monday, apologizing for affecting so many people with his actions and telling judge Merrick that he has become very spiritual and wants to become a part-time pastor in the future.
“I had a calling,” he said. “I’m very passionate about the bible… I just want to help other people in distress.”
Stutsman County state’s attorney Fritz Fremgen had recommended Partlow serve a two-year prison sentence.
“We’re awfully lucky (no one died),” he said. “But people need to be responsible for their actions.”
Terrorizing is a Class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Lindbo had asked the court for a deferred imposition of sentence, which would keep the felony off Partlow’s record, but Merrick disagreed.
“You earned a felony,” Merrick told Partlow. “What you did was outrageous.”