Bryson Connolly stood in Flathead County District Court on Dec. 17 and turned to face the man he shot at 15 times with an AK-47 rifle last year.
“Deputy Schiff: I’m sorry,” Connolly said.
In the 16 months he’s been incarcerated at the Flathead County Detention Center since his arrest after the shooting, Connolly said he’s had time to detox from the extreme drugs he was taking the day of the shooting, given his brain time to heal and found God.
“I thank God Deputy Schiff did not kill me,” Connolly said. “I wouldn’t blame him if he did.”
The Dec. 17 hearing was the continuation of Connolly’s sentencing, which began the Monday before. Freshly 21 years old in the courtroom last week, Connolly was 19 when he got out of his car after initially refusing to pull over for a sheriff’s deputy on Aug. 19, 2011, and firing on Deputy Roger Schiff.
He was charged with one count of attempted deliberate homicide, one count of assault on a police officer and two counts of felony assault with a weapon. The assault charges were dropped in a September plea agreement, in exchange for Connolly’s guilty plea by way of Alford.
Judge Stewart Stadler sentenced Connolly to 40 years in Montana State Prison, with 30 of those years suspended for attempted murder. He also restricted parole for the entirety of the sentence, meaning Connolly will have to spend 10 years in prison.
For assault on a police officer, Connolly received 10 years in prison, to run concurrently with the other sentence. He is also charged with paying over $8,000 in fines.
During his sentencing hearing, Connolly said he used the Alford plea, which does not admit guilt but acknowledges there is enough evidence to convict, only because he can’t remember the shooting or why he did it.
He had been using the drug MDPB, also called bath salts, all day, Connolly said, and only remembered pulling over the car before getting on the highway because he was having a panic attack. The next thing he remembered was waking up with half of his body in a creek.
Prosecutors and police have filled in the events in between. According to court records, Schiff attempted to pull Connolly over after dispatch received reports that the young man had threatened another person with an AK-47.
Connolly refused to stop, Schiff said, until he got into a field. When the deputy got out of his car to issue verbal commands, Connolly sped away. When he stopped a second time, Connolly got out of the car and fired 15 rounds at the deputy and then fled. Schiff was not hit, but his cruiser sustained over $5,000 in damage, which Connolly is now responsible for.
On the first day of sentencing, Connolly’s family and friends spoke about him, and Schiff got his turn on the stand as well. The second day of sentencing brought Dr. William Stratford, a psychiatrist who has significant experience with prison inmates and child psychology, to the stand.
Stratford said he examined Connolly for two days at the request of Connolly’s attorney, John Quatman. The determination, Stratford said, was that despite “extensive” drug use from the age of 10, Connolly was remarkably normal, psychologically.
“He’s not inherently psychotic; he’s not a personality disorder,” Stratford said. “He tested like a normal 20 year old.”
Stratford went on to explain that studies are showing that the human brain doesn’t fully mature until at least age 25, and drug use could hinder that process. Starting with alcohol at age 10 and moving on to hallucinogens, cocaine, amphetamines and, by 2010, bath salts, Connolly’s drug use was “prolific.”
As for bath salts, Stratford said, “It’s the most dangerous drug I’ve ever seen.”
That August evening when Connolly shot at a deputy was likely the result of “a chemically induced psychosis,” Stratford said, adding that amnesia is overwhelmingly common with bath salt users.
Stratford recommended that Connolly go to a locked-down drug treatment facility in Lewistown, called NEXUS, for a period of at least 18 months before he is parole eligible.
Quatman echoed this recommendation, noting that no matter what Stadler did with Connolly’s sentencing, it would not deter violence in valley. Drunk drivers than kill more law enforcement personnel in the Flathead than guns, Quatman said, and harsh sentences on DUI infractions haven’t prevented more in the valley.
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Bryson Connolly, 21, appears in Flathead County District Court for his sentencing hearing on Monday, Dec. 17, 2012. – Lido Vizzutti | Flathead Beacon |
He said his client has taken accountability for the shooting, and “if accountability just translates into years in prison, that doesn’t make sense.”
“We ask you to not simply feed the vengeance,” Quatman said.
Deputy County Attorney Lori Adams, however, opposed leniency. She suggested the judge sentence Connolly to 65 years in prison, and restricting parole until he has served at least 25 years.
Adams said Connolly made deliberate choices to start doing drugs and to lie about going to chemical dependency treatment when he was 14. He also chose to lie to get a medical marijuana card, Adams said, and continued to do bath salts even after negative experiences.
“This is a very serious case,” Adams said.
While sentencing Connolly, Stadler said he believed 65 years was too much, but that the court’s duty is to punish criminal acts, protect the public and provide justice for the victims. After that comes rehabilitation for the perpetrator, Stadler said.
Had Connolly hit and killed someone with his car while under the influence, he likely would have received at least 10 years, Stadler said. But one main difference in this case is that intoxicated drivers rarely get in their car with the intention to kill someone, whereas shooting 15 rounds at a person has clear deadly intent.
Stadler recommended that when Connolly finishes his 10-year prison term, he head to the NEXUS program. Thirty years of a suspended sentence should also ensure compliance with the law, Stadler said, and Connolly will have to register as a violent offender for the rest of his life.
“Go there and make the most of it,” Stadler told Connolly.
At the end of Connolly’s statement before being sentenced, he turned to the Schiff family sitting in the front row, and again apologized.
“What I did was an absolutely terrible thing,” he said. “Please make room in your hearts to forgive me for my actions that night.”