A Wallaceburg man originally accused of attempted murder in a drug deal gone bad will spend the next three months behind bars for aggravated assault.
Michael Authier, 35, was sentenced to 18 months in jail but was given 15 months credit for the substantial time he has already spent in jail in this matter.
He shot at the window of a vehicle in February of 2019 and seriously injured an 18-year-old woman sitting in the passenger's seat.
Authier pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of aggravated assault in April and was sentenced on Monday by audio in the Ontario Court of Justice in Chatham. Authier will also need to submit a DNA sample, is banned from owning weapons for 15 years, and is to have no contact with the victim.
Defence lawyer Frank Retar told the court that his client should benefit from pleading guilty early and asked for 90 days of incarceration and 18 months of probation.
Regional Justice Bruce Thomas said Authier's lengthy criminal record shows a pattern but probation was not enough.
"My position at pretrial was that I did not see the value of probation for this accused. In my view, with the record that the accused has, concerns with not only the nature of this offence but also the pressures on probation and parole, it would not be a benefit to have him serve a probationary period so there will be none," said Thomas.
Assistant Crown James Boostra admitted the prosecution had a difficult time proving the case because witnesses were not cooperative.
"There were four Crown witnesses that were present. They provided distinctly different versions of what had taken place and one at the preliminary hearing denied even being present despite clear statements and testimony from the others saying that he was," said Boonstra.
The victim submitted a victim impact statement but it was not read aloud in court.
All that Authier said when given his chance to speak was that he was sorry.
He is currently in jail on unrelated charges and his release was revoked prior to Monday's sentencing.
Authier had been released from jail on $100,000 bail in 2020 with strict bail conditions.