Ellebrecht sentenced to suspended three-year prison term
by Kara D. Machado, 12/22/2006
A Rio Dell man who fired several shots into a residence as, he claims, he aimed for a deer, was released from custody on Thursday until Jan. 14.
On Jan. 14, Phillip Ellebrecht, 21, will turn himself back in to the Humboldt County Correctional Facility, where he will serve a little more than 100 days of a one-year sentence — he has 263 days of combined credit served.
Ellebrecht appeared in Humboldt County Superior Court Judge John T. Feeney’s courtroom Thursday to be sentenced for the shooting that occurred at about 10 p.m. Jan. 16 in the 200 block of Stream Street in Rio Dell.
On that date, Ellebrecht fired 10 to 14 shots at a home, Humboldt County Deputy District Attorney Allan Dollison said.
“He said he was walking down the street — after he, himself, admitted to have had drank a 12-pack of beer and a fifth of Jack Daniels,” Dollison said, “and, at one point, claimed he (began) shooting at a deer ... with a .22-caliber rifle.
“Fortunately, no one was hurt.”
On Thursday, Feeney also sentenced Ellebrecht to a suspended, three-year prison sentence — which was recommended both by the Probation Department and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Rather than serve three years in prison, Ellebrecht will be placed on three years probation, Feeney said in court.
Should Ellebrecht violate his probation, he will ultimately serve the three years in prison.
Ellebrecht was also ordered to stay at least 100 yards away from the Zingaro family, at whose residence Ellebrecht shot.
In court, Ellebrecht — handcuffed by his right wrist to another inmate — appeared somber, wearing the standard orange jail jumper, with his light-colored hair shorn short.
Loved ones of Ellebrecht filled one row of the courtroom. On the opposite side of the spectator seating sat Katherine Zingaro.
Zingaro said she was out of town visiting her father when she received a call from her husband, Nicholas Zingaro, just after the shooting.
Nicholas Zingaro was in the home at the time of the shooting, with the couple’s two children — a daughter, who was 8 at the time, and a son, 4.
In court, Katherine Zingaro said her son slept through the incident, but her daughter was “shaken” as a result of it.
“I’m sorry this has happened,” Zingaro said in court. “(Ellebrecht) is a young man ... I hope he can release (his) hate and have love in his heart.”
Feeney allowed Ellebrecht to vocally apologize to Zingaro from the front row of the jury box, where he stood by his attorney, Humboldt County Public Defender Blair Angus.
“Honestly, from the bottom of my heart, I apologize,” Ellebrecht said. “I’m glad no one was hurt ... I’m sorry for (your) daughter.
“I am truly, honestly sorry about what happened. ... It won’t happen again.”
Dollison said Ellebrecht was initially charged with shooting at an inhabited dwelling and the negligent discharge of a firearm, and was bound for both charges following his preliminary hearing May 16.
If convicted of his initial charges, Ellebrecht could have faced a maximum of seven years in state prison, Dollison said.
However, on July 31, Ellebrecht accepted a plea offer of the negligent discharge of a firearm, Dollison said, which carries a maximum prison exposure of three years.
Via telephone, Nicholas Zingaro said one of the 14 bullets fired into his home went through his front door, missing his head by 1 inch.
“My daughter heard the shots and flipped out,” Nicholas Zingaro said. “I grabbed her from her bunk bed and we huddled to the ground.
“She couldn’t stop crying. We had to call her best friend’s parents. She couldn’t stay at the house. She had to stay at her best friend’s house that night.”
Nicholas Zingaro said he believed the sentencing to be “light.”
“Seriously,” Nicholas Zingaro said, “it’s like a slap on the wrist.”
Dollison described this case in court as “a close call” and said he was pleased to see Ellebrecht was remorseful.
“This is a strike (case),” Dollison later said. “We are pleased with the court’s decision.”
Copyright (C) 2005, The Eureka Reporter. All rights reserved.
More on Dollison:
State Bar Association Allan Lee Dollison
Like Gallegos, he did not go to an accredited Law School - Western State Univ was not an accredited Law School at the time Dollison attended. It has recently become accredited.
Like Stoen and Schwartz, this guy likes to run for office:
Senatorial candidate suspended in 2000
Smart Voter - Philosophy
Smart Voter, March 2, 2004 Election - Our Environment
He also ran for the California Assembly in 1994.
Discussion at watchpaul:
Tim Stoen, Jeffrey "yougofree.com" Schwartz, and now this...
What're we talkin' about here? Moral Turpitude
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