SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A man who shot another man in the head because the shooter mistakenly thought the victim was a sex offender was sentenced Tuesday in Spokane to more than 15 years in prison on assault and gun convictions.
The 27-year-old Robert D. Startin cried in Spokane County Superior Court as he apologized for shooting 26-year-old Shane Reilly at a drinking party last March in Spokane Valley.
The prosecutor said someone joked that Reilly was a sex offender. Startin had a relative who was molested. He got a gun and shot Reilly in the head.
The Spokesman-Review reports Reilly was paralyzed below the neck but has recovered some movement in his limbs. He’s still in the hospital.
