MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A coach who admitted to firing a gun at a parent was sentenced to 180 days in the Hennepin County Workhouse on Wednesday.
Imposition of the sentence was stayed by the judge for a period of five years, amid protest by county prosecutors. So long as Hill doesn’t violate probation terms, he will spend no time in jail and will have the felony reduced to a misdemeanor.
“This was not a gut reaction,” said Assistant Hennepin County Attorney Dan Allard to Judge Daniel Moreno. “He left the gym, got in his car, drove away, got a gun and came back.”
Forty-five-year-old Paul Hill pleaded guilty to second-degree assault in connection with the Sept. 29, 2011 incident.
Hill, a basketball coach, got into an argument with Patrick Adams at a Minneapolis YMCA before driving away to get a .22-caliber pistol. He returned and drove up to Adams in the parking lot, saying, “I’ve got something for you.”
Hill then fired a shot from his truck.
Judge Moreno said he had to take Hill’s clean record into account when deciding whether to deviate from sentencing guidelines.
Adams released a statement protesting the decision, saying he and his family were “severely affected” by the incident.
“I told my son that I don’t believe in guns and it is never okay to take another man’s life, regardless of what he has done,” said Adams. “I also told him that the law deals with people who decide to commit such egregious acts of violence. If, in fact, you are going to sentence Mr. Hill to work house time and not prison time for his pre-meditated act, how do I justly pound home the fact that any act of violence towards another man is deplorable?”
